Congratulations to these alumni who are making a positive impact on the leadership and administration of education at all levels!
John Avendano, B.S.Ed. Physical Education, ’86, and M.S.Ed. Adult and Continuing Ed, ’91, will become president of Florida State College at Jacksonville this summer. Avendano is currently the president and CEO of Kankakee Community College. He has more than 30 years of community college experience, including previously serving as the president of the Illinois Council of Public Community College Presidents and the past chair of the South Metropolitan Higher Education Consortium President’s Council in Illinois.
Christine Benson, Ed.D. Adult and Continuing Education, ’05, was sworn in March 1 as one of seven new members of the Illinois State Board of Education following their appointments Monday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Benson has 35 years of teaching and administrative experience in elementary, middle, and high schools in Illinois. She served as central office administrator for seven years, focusing on budget management, curriculum development and grants. Benson served as superintendent for six years at Mendota High School, five years in the Ottawa Elementary School District and six years in the Streator Elementary School District.
Bernard Bull, Ed.D. Instructional Technology, ’07, became president of Goddard College on Nov. 1, 2018. Bull most recently served as chief innovation officer, vice provost of Curriculum and Innovation and professor of Education at Concordia University Wisconsin, where he led a university-wide effort to refine and expand low-residency and online learning opportunities for adult and post-traditional learners. Goddard College is the pioneer of the low-residency degree format, wherein students are on campus for eight days each semester, then return home for 16 weeks of independent study in close collaboration with faculty.
Jennifer Dalrymple, Ed.D. Curriculum Leadership, ’17, has been named the new assistant director for Professional Learning and Recruitment in East Aurora School District 131. Dalrymple, who has been in education for 16 years, came to East Aurora in 2014 to coordinate all professional learning opportunities for staff, faculty and administrators. Last fall, she was appointed assistant principal at Simmons Middle School.
John M. Dunn, B.S.Ed. Physical Education, ’67, and M.S.Ed. Physical Education, ’69, began a second stint as interim chancellor of Southern Illinois University Carbondale on Jan. 1. Dunn previously served as the university’s provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs from 2002 to 2006 and interim chancellor in 2006-2007. He served as president of Western Michigan University for 10 years before retiring in 2017. He previously served at the University of Connecticut as a faculty member; at Oregon State University as chair of the Department of Exercise and Sport Science, assistant dean of the College of Health and Human Performance and associate provost; and at the University of Utah’s College of Health as dean.
William (Will) Dwyer, Ed.D. Curriculum Leadership, ’17, will become principal of West Chicago Community High School on July 1. Dwyer is currently the director of secondary teaching and learning for West Aurora Unit District 129, supporting staff at four middle schools and West Aurora High School. He previously served as assistant principal for Curriculum and Instruction at Oswego East High School, director of Athletics at Oak Lawn Community High School and assistant principal for Athletics and Activities at Rich Central High School. He started his educational career in 2003 teaching U.S. history, world history and psychology.
Margo Empen, B.S.Ed. Elementary Education, ’92, superintendent of the Dixon (Ill.) Public Schools, is an Illinois Association of School Administrators’ 2019 Superintendent of Distinction. Empen was nominated by her peers and selected based on achievements and personal characteristics aligned with the criteria for the state and national Superintendent of the Year awards. Her approach is to seek balance between an articulated instructional sequence that builds at each grade level with meeting the unique and individual requirements of each student. In 2009, Empen created the Student Worker Assistance Program (SWAP) in Dixon to allow students in need to “SWAP” paying their athletic fees with working for the school district. Nearly 1,400 students have benefitted from SWAP since its inception.
Lynn Glickman, M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’13, and Ed.D. Educational Administration, ’17, will become superintendent of Grayslake-based Community Consolidated School District 46 on July 1. Glickman is currently the assistant superintendent of Human Resources at Wheeling-based Community Consolidated School District 21, a role she began in 2014. She began her administrative career as a principal in Kildeer’s Community Consolidated School District 96 before moving to Des Plaines’ East Maine School District 63, where she was a principal before being promoted in 2009 to assistant superintendent of human resources.
Peter Hannigan, M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’02, Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’06, and Ed.D. Educational Administration, ’08, will become superintendent of Hawthorn School District 73 on July 1. Hannigan is currently the assistant superintendent for Human Resources at Schaumburg Consolidated Community School District 54, a pre-K through eighth grade public school district with 28 schools serving more than 15,000 students. He previously served as principal of District 54’s Everett Dirksen Elementary School and Margaret Mead Junior High before being promoted in 2013 to his current position.
Cynthia Lattimer, M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’88, was sworn in March 1 as one of seven new members of the Illinois State Board of Education following their appointments Monday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Her more than 33 years of administrative and classroom experience East Aurora District 131 and West Aurora School District 129 began as a special education teacher. She served as principal of W.S. Beaupre Elementary School and Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, as chief officer for special populations in District 129, working closely with social workers, psychologists, speech and language pathologists, as assistant superintendent in the Division of Student Services and as assistant superintendent in the Division of Teaching and Learning, a role she held until her 2014 retirement.
Maurice McDavid, M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’16, is leading efforts to increase instructor diversity in DeKalb Community Unit School District 428 with the help of a state-led initiative called the Diverse and Learner-Ready Teacher Network. McDavid, dean of students at DeKalb High School since 2016, is one of 22 educators across the state participating in this new initiative led by the Illinois State Board of Education.
Shirley I. Metcalf, Ed.D. Business Education, ’90, will retire July 1 from the presidency of Central Oregon Community College. Metcalf, who has worked in higher education in Hawaii, Washington and Oregon for 46 years, is only the fifth president in COCC’s nearly 70-year history. She joined COCC in 2011, and has served as president since 2014. Metcalf is credited with providing stability and a strong sense of community, both on and off the campuses of COCC. She oversaw the completion of both a strategic plan and a facilities master plan, the successful accreditation mid-cycle report, and was instrumental in helping the college secure its largest-ever federal grant.
James Morrison, Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’09, will become principal of South Middle School in Arlington Heights School District 25 on July 1. Morrison has served as principal of Emerson Middle School in Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 for the past eight years. He also is an adjunct professor at North Park University, where he works with students interested in earning their principal certification.
Victor Barnett Pasley, M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’75, was appointed to the Lincoln University Board of Curators by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson. Pasley, of Columbia, Mo., earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Lincoln, and has served on LU’s Foundation Board since 2006. He retired from the Xerox Corp. in 2010 after 32 years as a member of its executive team. He held a number of district, regional and headquarter leadership assignments in the United States and other countries. He also served three years in the U.S. Army, including a tour of duty in Vietnam, and spent seven years as a teacher and assistant principal.
Tammy Prentiss, B.S.Ed. Special Education, ’90, M.S.Ed. Special Education, ’91, M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’94, and Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’07, will become superintendent of Hinsdale High School District 86 on July 1. Prentiss has worked as assistant superintendent of student services in District 86 since July 2014. Prior to coming to District 86, she was assistant director of the Cooperative Association of Special Education, an educational cooperative in DuPage County, and also worked 19 years in Bloomingdale-Carol Stream Elementary District 93, where she started as a Special Education teacher and eventually became the district’s director of Special Education.
Justin Snider, B.S.Ed. Elementary Education, ’01, and M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’08, was nominated for the Lifechanger of the Year award. Sponsored by National Life Group, the recognition program honors K-12 public school educators and employees who are making a difference in the lives of students by exemplifying excellence, positive influence and leadership. Snider has served as principal of Somonauk Middle School since 2015. His 18-year career in Somonauk also includes roles as principal, assistant principal and athletic director at Somonauk High School and as a fifth-grade teacher.
Darrylinn Todd, Ed.D. Instructional Technology, ’08, has been named associate vice chancellor of Student Affairs and Enrollment Services at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Todd will provide executive leadership for and oversee several administrative units that provide centralized campus support activities and services to students, including the Offices of Admissions, Financial Aid, Registrar’s Office, Student Life, Student Affairs, and the One-Stop Shop. She previously served as executive administrator at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the senior director of Online Learning at DePaul University and vice president of Academic and Student Affairs at Malcolm X College-City Colleges of Chicago.
If you’re a College of Education grad with news to share, please let us know – and send a photo! Our email address is NIUCOEalum@niu.edu.
