Full Text of HR0827 103rd General Assembly
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate David Sam, Ph.D. on the | 4 | | occasion of his retirement as president of Elgin Community | 5 | | College (ECC); and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Sam began serving as the eighth president of | 7 | | ECC on February 12, 2007; during his tenure, academic | 8 | | excellence, student success and completion, reduction of | 9 | | student loan debt, community outreach, partnerships, workforce | 10 | | development, equity, diversity and inclusion, and financial | 11 | | prudence have become the hallmarks of his presidency, and he | 12 | | has directed ECC towards achieving extraordinary results | 13 | | through collaborating with a visionary and engaged board of | 14 | | trustees, an outstanding and dedicated faculty, and a | 15 | | competent and committed team of administrators and staff; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Under Dr. Sam's leadership, ECC was named one of | 17 | | 25 semifinalists, out of 1,047 community colleges nationwide, | 18 | | for the 2023 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, and | 19 | | the college was previously named an Aspen Top 150 College in | 20 | | 2015, 2019, and 2021; he oversaw ECC joining the student | 21 | | success initiative Achieving the Dream in 2009, earning the | 22 | | institution a Leader College status from 2012 to 2022 before | 23 | | then receiving the designation of a Leader College of |
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| 1 | | Distinction; he led ECC's efforts to pass a $178 million | 2 | | capital referendum in 2009, transforming the campus into a | 3 | | modern, state-of-the-art learning environment; his guidance | 4 | | has been essential towards securing financial stability and | 5 | | sound fiscal management for ECC, earning the college an Aaa | 6 | | rating from Moody's Ratings since 2009 and an AA+ rating from | 7 | | Standard & Poor's since 2010; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Before joining ECC, Dr. Sam served as president | 9 | | of North Harris College in Texas for six-and-a-half years; | 10 | | previously, he served as dean of the Community & Technical | 11 | | College and a social science and business management professor | 12 | | at the University of Akron, Ohio; prior to that, he served as | 13 | | vice president for Faculty and Instruction at Harrisburg Area | 14 | | Community College in Pennsylvania, as acting vice president of | 15 | | Academic Affairs and dean of Natural and Social Sciences at | 16 | | Mott Community College in Michigan, and as assistant | 17 | | professor/coordinator of International Studies at College of | 18 | | DuPage in Illinois; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Sam, a native of Ghana, West Africa, received | 20 | | his Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Political Science, and | 21 | | History from Illinois State University (ISU); he earned a | 22 | | Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy and a Ph.D. in | 23 | | International Economic and Political Relations from Tufts | 24 | | University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; he also |
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| 1 | | obtained an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Northwestern | 2 | | University's Kellogg School of Management, a Juris Doctor from | 3 | | the University of Akron School of Law, and a Master of Laws | 4 | | (LLM) in Energy Law and Policy at the University of Dundee, | 5 | | United Kingdom; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Sam serves on the boards of directors for the | 7 | | St. Charles Bank & Trust, Alignment Collaborative for | 8 | | Education, the Golden Corridor Family YMCA, and the Elgin Area | 9 | | Chamber of Commerce, holding the office of chair from May 2015 | 10 | | to January 2017; he is an Illinois Phi Theta Kappa | 11 | | Presidential Ambassador and an active member of the Rotary | 12 | | Club of Elgin; he also belongs to the Illinois Council of | 13 | | Community College Presidents, serving as secretary/treasurer | 14 | | from 2021 to 2022, vice chair from 2022 to 2023, and chair from | 15 | | 2023 to 2024; as a licensed attorney, he is a member of the | 16 | | District of Columbia Bar, the Energy Bar Association, and the | 17 | | American Bar Association; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Sam has received a number of accolades, | 19 | | including being inducted into the ISU College of Arts & | 20 | | Sciences Hall of Fame, being named a Rotary International | 21 | | Club's Paul Harris Fellow, and receiving the Phi Theta Kappa's | 22 | | Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction, Judson University's D. | 23 | | Ray Wilson Volunteer Service Award, the Illinois Community | 24 | | College Trustees Association's Gary W. Davis Ethical |
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| 1 | | Leadership Award, the Elgin Cosmopolitan Club's Distinguished | 2 | | Service Award, and an Illinois Consortium for International | 3 | | Studies and Programs Member Emeritus Award; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Sam has left an indelible mark on ECC, and of | 5 | | the more than 68,167 degrees and certificates ECC has awarded | 6 | | since its founding in 1949, approximately 55.9% have been | 7 | | awarded during his tenure; therefore, be it | 8 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 9 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 10 | | we congratulate David Sam, Ph.D. on his retirement as | 11 | | president of Elgin Community College (ECC), and we commend him | 12 | | for his exemplary service and dedication to the students, | 13 | | faculty, staff, and community of ECC; and be it further | 14 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 15 | | presented to Dr. Sam as an expression of our esteem and | 16 | | respect. |
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