Darl E. Drummond: College of Lake County Board Candidate

Name: Darl E. Drummond

Age: 60

Family: Single

Education: Bachelors of Science in Education; Masters of Science in Guidance and Counseling

Occupation: Higher Education Administrator

Previous Elected or Appointed Offices: No

Other community involvement: Lake County United Way; YMCA-Northern Lakes; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority; Links Incorporated; and twice named: the Most Influential African American in Lake County by Soring Eagle Publications;   

Position sought: Election to the College of Lake County Board of Trustees

Campaign E-mail address: dedrummond@comcast.net

Campaign committee: None

Campaign Website: None

Campaign Facebook: See me on Facebook as Darl Drummond

Campaign Twitter: None

Why are you running?

I recently retired from the College of Lake County after 15 years as Dean and Vice President for Student Development. My leadership and experience as a senior member of the Executive Staff provided me with access and interaction with the Board of Trustees and this experience has prepared me to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees. I want to continue to serve the citizens of Lake County by becoming elected to the Board of Trustees where I will work for fiscal accountability, affordable tuition and a safe learning and work environment for students and staff.

In what ways would the College of Lake County benefit from your service?

The College would benefit from my national, state and local knowledge and experience as a community and technical college administrator for over 30 years. I have a proven track record for developing and implementing innovative programs and services to enable students to reach their educational goals. I have provided leadership, and supervision for a multimillion dollar budget. I have a very high level of technical and operational knowledge and experience with the fiscal operations of the College. I am a strong advocate for students and staff. I also have a very extensive knowledge of the College’s culture, policies, procedures and operating practices.

The College would benefit from my stewardship, leadership, community relations and sensitivity for the issues and concerns affecting tax payers in Lake County.

What is the biggest challenge the college faces and what should be done to address it?

The greatest challenge facing the College is the need to implement the College’s Master Plan to upgrade the 40 year old facility infrastructure and to remodel and in some cases new buildings to accommodate classroom and Student Development needs. For example, the Student Development space at the Grayslake Campus is cramped and it is not conducive for student and staff engagement, interaction and co-curricular activities.

I fully support the College’s plan to implement the Master Plan to address the facility concerns that I have noted above.

What do you think the college does well?

The College has an outstanding complement of full-time and adjunct faculty who are dedicated to their academic disciplines. The faculty work very hard to engage students in the learning process to ensure that students are well prepared for transfer to four year colleges and universities in Illinois and around the nation.  

What should be some of the college's priorities over the next several years?

From my standpoint the priorities of the College over the next several years should include:

• Fiscal accountability and transparency

• Affordable tuition

• Programs and services to enable students to complete their degrees and related educational goals.

• Marketing educational programs and services through traditional and social media venues.

• Implementation of the Facilities Master Plan

What else would you like voters to know?

I will work hard to make the best and most conservative use of tax payer dollars. I will advocate for students and staff. I will push to ensure that the College is in touch with the various communities that it serves in Lake County.