College of DuPage President Dr. Ann Rondeau will be leaving her position at the end of December.
She’s heading to Monterey, California to take over as president of the Naval Postgraduate School.
“After two and a half years here and knowing that I’m leaving rather earlier than I was expecting, I leave not only with a sense of poignancy, somewhat bittersweet, but also with pride, confidence, and optimism about where this college is going and will continue to go,” said Rondeau.
Rondeau has served as president of COD since May of 2016, taking over after a tumultuous period in the college’s history, which culminated with the firing of the previous president, Robert Breuder.
During her tenure, Rondeau helped restore the college’s accreditation, which had been put on probation. She also launched the nonprofit Innovation DuPage to promote business growth, and created project Hire-Ed, which focuses on building student success with future employers.
The retired navy vice admiral accepted her new appointment from the secretary of the navy, and begins in January 2019. An interim president will take Rondeau’s place when she leaves, while the college’s Board of Trustees searches for her successor.
Rondeau was the first female president of COD, and will become the 50th president of the Naval Postgraduate School.
Naperville News 17’s Christine Lena reports.
