SR1035 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1035 LRB103 40737 ECR 73549 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to congratulate Brian W. Caputo, Ph.D. on the occasion of his retirement as president of College of DuPage; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Caputo earned a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, a Master of Science in Accountancy from DePaul University, and both a Master of Public Administration and a Ph.D. with fields of study in public administration, public policy, and government finance from Northern Illinois University (NIU); he is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Public Finance Officer (CPFO); and

WHEREAS, Dr. Caputo served in the U.S. Army Reserve for 22 years, where he specialized in human resources and financial management and led numerous command assignments, before retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2004; and

WHEREAS, Before coming to College of DuPage, Dr. Caputo served as chief financial officer/city treasurer of the City of Aurora for nearly 19 years; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Caputo's career in higher education includes positions as a full-time faculty member at Central Michigan University and an adjunct professor at NIU; he has also served as a lecturer in numerous academic and professional capacities, including teaching classes in accountancy at College of DuPage; and

WHEREAS, Prior to his appointment as president of College of DuPage, Dr. Caputo served as vice president for administrative affairs and chief financial officer; upon becoming president in July 2019, he implemented his Strategic Long-Range Plan to encourage student success and to establish the arts, culture, community engagement, economic development, and organizational culture as essential pillars of the college; and

WHEREAS, During his tenure, Dr. Caputo sought to advance student success through the implementation of College of DuPage's Guided Pathways Initiative, a framework designed to help students effectively choose, enter, and complete a program of study that aligns with their goals for employment and further education, and was deeply involved in the college's Project Hire-Ed, a workforce development program to better align post-secondary education with workforce skill requirements through partnerships with area employers; seeking to close achievement gaps that currently exist for students of color and those who are underserved by 2025, he led the development of college's first equity plan in early 2020, serving as presiding officer of the Equity and Access Team to further aid the plan's implementation; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Caputo has further served College of DuPage and the surrounding community through supporting the creation of Innovation DuPage, a business incubator-accelerator designed to promote economic growth by leveraging partnerships with public and private entities, and he presently serves as a director of Choose DuPage, the county's economic development agency; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Caputo has previously served as a member of the Commission on Structured Pathways of the American Association of Community Colleges, and he has served as a member on the Governmental Accounting Standards Board since 2015; he is a peer accreditation reviewer with the Higher Learning Commission, and he also represents College of DuPage on the Illinois Council of Community College Presidents and chairs the council's Credential Committee; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Caputo has received several accolades, including being named the 2014 Government CFO of the Year by The Daily Herald Business Ledger, receiving the Model Administrator Award from The Greater Chicago Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration in 2018, and being recognized as a Notable Veteran Executive by Crain's Chicago Business in 2020; and

WHEREAS, Outside of his professional duties, Dr. Caputo has volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) for decades; an Eagle Scout himself, he recently served as the president of the Three Fires Council of the BSA; for his distinguished service to the community, he received the 2021 Outstanding Eagle Scout Award from the National Eagle Scout Association; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Caputo and his wife, Karen, are the parents of three children, Brian Jr., Gregory, and Katherine; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Brian W. Caputo, Ph.D. on his retirement as president of College of DuPage, and we wish him the best in all his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Dr. Caputo as a symbol of our esteem and respect.