South Suburban College celebrates staff leadership efforts

South Suburban College board of trustees honored the contributions of its staff, welcomed new campus officers, and approved funds for atrium renovations at its May 8 meeting. 

“It’s always a good day to see smiling faces and familiar faces who come back and to celebrate with us the successes of the institution and ongoing successes,” president Lynette Stokes said. 

Stokes honored Linda Brown-Aldridge, dean of the nursing department, with the President’s Excellence in Leadership award for outstanding dedication and engagement to the institution. 

Other award recipients include administrative assistant Margaret “Peggy” O’Connell for the President’s Outstanding Support Staff award, dean Megan Hughes for the President’s Rising Star award, and business and accounting manager Peggy Bette for the Administrative Services Employee of the Year award.

Official business

The board approved the college’s monthly financial report. According to chief financial officer Thomas Agnew, college expenditures for the period ending March 31 were $2,079,328. Revenue in the same period stood at $3,576,280.25.

Trustees unanimously approved a bid for the school’s atrium project to replace its entrance flooring. Chicago Heights Construction was selected to complete the project for $571,872. The school will utilize a Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity grant to cover the cost. 

Officer Keith Sankey’s resignation from the campus police department went into effect May 10. The board approved the appointment of two full-time officers starting July 7. “The start date is July 7 because the campus is closed for a long time, so there’s a lag time,” chairman Terry Wells said. 

The board also approved the appointment of a full-time human resources manager effective May 19. As of May 12, engineer John Casella returned to his previous role as a Trades II Maintenance employee.

The meeting went into a moment of silence to honor longtime employee Eleanor Radford, who died on April 21. She was a switchboard attendant in the academic computing and telecommunications department.