Full Text of HR0921 102nd General Assembly
HR0921 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are pleased to congratulate Dr. Christine J. | 4 | | Sobek on her retirement as president of Waubonsee Community | 5 | | College after 21 years of service; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Since Dr. Sobek began her role as president on | 7 | | July 1, 2001, Waubonsee Community College has served 189,429 | 8 | | students earning 2,829,005 credit hours; through her vision | 9 | | and steadfast leadership, the college has grown in stature | 10 | | locally and regionally across four permanent campuses located | 11 | | in the 624-square-mile college district; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Sobek's efforts transformed and strengthened | 13 | | the college by achieving its infrastructure growth outlined in | 14 | | the 2020 College Master Plan five years earlier than projected | 15 | | and under budget; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Under Dr. Sobek's stewardship, the college saw | 17 | | its most recent significant expansion with the construction of | 18 | | five new buildings on the college's Sugar Grove Campus, the | 19 | | opening of the new Aurora Downtown Campus location, and the | 20 | | opening of the new Plano Campus; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Sobek has long championed the college's |
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| 1 | | commitment to student equity and success; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Under Dr. Sobek's leadership, Waubonsee was one | 3 | | of the first community colleges in Illinois to obtain the | 4 | | Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) designation; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, The college re-engineered what student success | 6 | | means for its more than 30% Latinx students and many | 7 | | first-generation students, by having candid conversations | 8 | | around access, retention, and graduation completion; these | 9 | | efforts resulted in the college securing three Title V grants | 10 | | totaling almost $9 million received since 2010; Waubonsee | 11 | | Community College has used this funding to drive necessary | 12 | | student programming, such as the opening of a Latinx Resource | 13 | | Center (LRC), located at the Aurora Downtown Campus; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, In addition, Dr. Sobek has led highly | 15 | | comprehensive funding initiatives that increased funding for | 16 | | student scholarships by more than 300 percent in college | 17 | | history; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, During disruptions brought by conditions of the | 19 | | pandemic, Dr. Sobek also worked with numerous stakeholders at | 20 | | the college to assure students could still complete their | 21 | | academic goals; the college created one-time, college-funded | 22 | | scholarships and grants in the amount of $2.4 million for |
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| 1 | | students; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Sobek believes in enthusiastically giving | 3 | | back to the community and is active within the Waubonsee | 4 | | community; she has served on the City of Aurora Education | 5 | | Commission, the Rush-Copley Medical Center Board of Directors, | 6 | | the Marmion Academy Board of Trustees, the Invest Aurora Board | 7 | | of Directors, the Mutual Ground Advisory Board, the | 8 | | Conservation Foundation Leadership Board, and many more | 9 | | regional and statewide advisory groups; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, In recognition of Dr. Sobek's 21 years of | 11 | | distinguished service, commitment, leadership, and | 12 | | contributions as president of the college, the Waubonsee | 13 | | Community College Board of Trustees also approved the | 14 | | bestowing of the honorary title of president emeritus upon her | 15 | | retirement; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Sobek earned a doctoral degree from Northern | 17 | | Illinois University, a master's degree from Michigan State | 18 | | University, and a bachelor's degree from Purdue University | 19 | | with Highest Distinction; she is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and | 20 | | an honorary member of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor | 21 | | Society; she also completed Harvard University's Seminar for | 22 | | Experienced Presidents; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Sobek has been the recipient of many honors, | 2 | | including being selected as one of Chicago's Notable Women in | 3 | | Education sponsored by Crain Chicago's Business, the | 4 | | Outstanding Alumni Award from Northern Illinois University, | 5 | | the Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction by Phi Theta Kappa | 6 | | International Honor Society, an Influential Women in Business | 7 | | award sponsored by The Business Ledger, the Michigan State | 8 | | University College of Education Alumni Association | 9 | | Distinguished Alumni Award, a Quad County Urban League | 10 | | Lifetime Achievement Award, and the National Council of | 11 | | Marketing and Public Relations District 3 Pacesetter of the | 12 | | Year Award; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Sobek's transformational leadership at | 14 | | Waubonsee Community College has profoundly impacted countless | 15 | | lives across the community; therefore, be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 17 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 18 | | we congratulate Dr. Christine J. Sobek on her retirement, | 19 | | commend her dedication, service, and enormous contribution as | 20 | | president of Waubonsee Community College, and wish her well in | 21 | | all of her future endeavors; and be it further
| 22 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 23 | | presented to Dr. Sobek as a symbol of our respect and esteem.
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