Three Finalists Named for President’s Job at Chicago State Univ.
Three college administrators have been identified as finalists to replace Dr. Wayne Watson who is retiring as president of Chicago State University.
The candidates are Dennis J. Shields, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville; Jerry D. Blakemore, vice president and general counsel at Northern
Illinois University in DeKalb, and Thomas J. Calhoun Jr., vice president for enrollment management at the University of North Alabama (UNA) in Florence.
“The search committee did a fantastic job of selecting three well-qualified finalists, all with their own strengths,” said Tom Wogan, a Chicago State University spokesman. “Each of the three finalists has made a visit to the campus and had meetings with staff, faculty and students. We also allotted time for community members to meet the candidates. After the three visits, everyone I spoke to agreed that the [Chicago State University] board had a tough decision ahead of them as all three were impressive in their own way.”
Both Blakemore and Calhoun have ties to Chicago.
In Chicago, Calhoun served as the founding principal of North Lawndale College Preparatory Charter High School, principal at Hales Franciscan High and headmaster of St. Gregory Episcopal School.
He also worked for several years in the Chicago Public Schools’ Department of Research, Evaluation and Planning.
In his college career, Calhoun was associate vice president for affairs at UNA. He previously was assistant dean for student academic services at the University of Washington’s College of Engineering. Calhoun was associate vice president for affairs at UNA.
Calhoun also taught at Morehouse College in Atlanta and directed a science and technology program at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.
Calhoun, an ordained Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, holds a master of divinity degree from the Interdenominatinal Theological Center in Atlanta. He also has bachelors’ degrees from Tuskegee University in Alabama, a master’s from Clark Atlanta University in Georgia and a doctorate’s from the University of Washington.
Blakemore, who received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton, got his law degree from John Marshall Law School in Chicago.
Blakemore, a former chairman of the Illinois Board of Higher Education and chief executive officer of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, was an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Labor for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs.
In his biographical data for the job, Blakemore says he has more than 25 years of experience in higher education administration, policy development and in legal services. He currently supervises six lawyers for Northern Illinois University.
Shields joined the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 2010.
Prior to becoming chancellor at the school, he served as acting vice president of student affairs at the City College of New York City University of New York.
He headed law school admissions and financial aid functions at the University of Iowa, then at the University of Michigan and Duke University in North Carolina. He also was professor of and dean of Phoenix School of Law.
Shields earned his bachelor’s degree from Graceland University in Iowa and his law degree from the University of Iowa.
Whoever is selected as president, will have to contend with a shirking staff, school officials acknowledged.
In anticipation of expected budget cuts, school officials said they have cut about 15 percent of their overall staff since January.
The school has less than 800 workers and about 5,000 students.
The board is expected to announce a decision by the end of the month, officials said. The new president would probably start in 2016.
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