Presidential Search Quick Links
TimelineFinalistsCommittee
Presidential Search Timeline
Nov. 14, 2024
Search is Launched Publicly: Ads are Placed and Requests for Nominations are Sent. Search Website and Post to AGB Site Become Active; Announcements Made on Social Media Platforms; Launch Memo to Campus Community. Search Consultants Begin Active Recruiting.
Week of Dec. 2, 2024
Candidate Screening Exercise for Search Committee. Consultants Provide a Sample Screening Rubric; Open the Password-Protected Application Website and Conduct a Mock Review of an Application.
Jan. 3, 2025
Date for Best Consideration
Jan. 7, 2025
Committee Shares Top 8 (unranked) Candidates with AGB Search Team via Email in Preparation for Selection Meeting.
Jan. 9, 2025
Search Committee Meets to Select Semifinalists.
Committee Approves Semifinal Interview Questions.
Jan. 9, 2025 - Week of Jan. 21, 2025
AGB Search Conducts Semifinal Due Diligence, Including Social Media Research, Publication Verification, Courtlink/Nexis Research and Listed Reference Checks.
Week of Jan. 21, 2025
Semifinal Interviews (ZOOM). Two Full Days.
Search Committee Recommends Slate of Unranked Finalists.
Announcement of Finalists to Community. Consultants Begin Off List Reference Checks.
Weeks of Feb. 10, 2025 and Feb. 17, 2025
Campus Interviews for Finalists.
Finalist Surveys.
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WE ARE HERE
Week of Feb. 24, 2025
Consultants Provide Results of Surveys and Off List References to Hiring Authority.
Contract Negotiations with Candidate.
TBD
Announcement of New President
Presidential Search Finalists
The Governors State University Presidential Search Committee, chaired by our Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees Stacy Crook, recommended three finalists to be considered as the university's next president. Dr. Joyce Ester, Dr. Daniel Lopez, and Dr. Christopher Reber will be on campus for interviews between February 10 and February 21.
About the Finalists
Dr. Ester is the president of Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota, where she has served since 2014. Dr. Ester holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Finalist SurveyThis survey will close on Friday, 2/21/2025 at 11:45 p.m. EST
Dr. Lopez is the president of Harold Washington College, part of the City Colleges of Chicago, where he has served since 2019. Dr. Lopez holds a Doctorate in Education from Illinois State University.
Finalist survey will be available at a later date.
Dr. Reber is the eighth president of Hudson County Community College (HCCC) in Jersey City, New Jersey, where he has served since 2018. Dr. Reber holds a Doctorate in Higher Education from the University of Pittsburgh.
Finalist SurveyThis survey will close on Tuesday, 2/25/2025 at 11:45 p.m. EST
The Selection Process
The Presidential Search Committee, composed of 25 diverse campus and community members, received 62 completed applications for the president position.
Following extensive review and discussion, nine candidates were invited to an interview with the search committee. As noted, three of the candidates were moved forward as finalists and have been recommended to the board. The board will meet each of the three finalists during the next board meeting on February 24, 2025.
Each finalist will be scheduled for a two-day visit to the GovState campus. Detailed information regarding opportunities to meet the candidates will be sent to campus and posted on this webpage at a later date.
Presidential Search Committee
The Presidential Search Committee comprises a diverse group of members that represent the GovState community, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, and trustees.
Stacy Crook
Vice Chair, Board of Trustees,
Presidential Search Chair
Stacy Crook, an alumna of the university’s Master of Science Accounting program, is a Principal and Director of Investment Accounting at Asset Allocation and Management and brings more than 20 years of financial and investment experience to the board. Previously with Jackson National Life Insurance and Northern Trust Company, Crook has been recognized by many, including her peers as Diversity MBA’s 2018 Top 100 Under 50 Executive Leaders.
Crook also serves her community as the Chicago Chapter President for the National Black MBA Association and as Vice-Chair for GovState’s College of Business Advisory Board. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and United Way of Metro Chicago’s Women United Creating Connections.
Shortly after Crook's appointment to the GovState’s Board of Trustees, she attended her first trustee meeting where Chair Angela Sebastian introduced the new trustee. “The board is excited to welcome a community leader with proven commitment to GovState and we are grateful and fortunate for her willingness to serve,” Sebastian said.
“Stacy has an expertise in process optimization, change management and corporate governance, and we are so fortunate to work with her," Sebastian said later.
Crook joins trustees Sebastian, Jim Kvedaras, and Kevin Brookins as the fourth alum on the board. She was appointed to the board to fill a vacancy left by Lisa Harrell who stepped down in 2022.
Crook received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Business Administration from Roosevelt University.
Jim Kvedaras
Chair, Board of Trustees,
Search Committee Member
Joshua Allen
Vice President, Human Resources,
Search Liaison
Paul McGuinness
Vice President, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management,
Cabinet Representative
Jason Zingsheim
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences,
Dean Representative
Mushtaq Choudhary
Associate Vice President, Student Affairs and Dean of Students
Josh Sopiarz
Faculty Senate President, Library
Tim Harrington
Associate Vice President, Associate Provost
Lyn Baluga
Associate Vice President, Financial Services
Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin
Mayor of the Village of Matteson
Katherine Carl
Faculty, College of Business
Glenna Howell
Faculty, College of Education and Human Development
Kerrie Morris
Faculty, College of Arts and Sciences
Nicole Bing
Faculty, College of Health and Human Services
Amy Vujaklija
Faculty Representative
Susie Morris
Civil Service President
Stephanie Contreras
Civil Service Representative
Juan Gonzalez
Academic Support Professional
Emmanuel Lopez
Director, Latinx Resource Center
Kimberly Gonzalez
Advancement/Foundation
Mike Hart
Unit B/UPI President
Giesela Grumbach
Chair, Department of Social Work
Mayor Vernard Alsberry Jr.
Mayor of the Village of Hazel Crest
Kate Del Rio
Student Representative
Eraina Green
Student Senate Representative
Paul McGuinness
Vice President, Student Affairs,
Cabinet Representative
Jason Zingsheim
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences,
Dean Representative
Mushtaq Choudhary
Associate Vice President, Student Affairs
Josh Sopiarz
Chair, Faculty Senate, Library
Tim Harrington
Associate Vice President, Associate Provost
Lyn Baluga
Associate Vice President, Financial Services
Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin
Mayor of the Village of Matteson
Katherine Carl
Faculty, College of Business
Glenna Howell
Faculty, College of Education and Human Development
Kerrie Morris
Faculty, College of Arts and Sciences
Nicole Bing
Faculty, College of Health and Human Services
Amy Vujaklija
Faculty Representative
Susie Morris
Civil Service President
Stephanie Contreras
Civil Service Representative
Juan Gonzalez
Academic Support Professional
Emmanuel Lopez
Director, Latinx Resource Center
Kimberly Gonzalez
Advancement/Foundation
Mike Hart
Unit B/UPI President
Giesela Grumbach
Social Work
Mayor Vernard Alsberry Jr.
Mayor of the Village of Hazel Crest
Kate Del Rio
Student Representative
Eraina Green
Student Senate Representative