The Waubonsee Community College Board officially approved Dr. Brian Knetl as president of the college. In addition, the Waubonsee Board honored retiring and longest-serving president with a special resolution and a leadership award for administrators at the College.
At its meeting on December 14, the Waubonsee Community College Board of Trustees officially appointed Dr. Knetl to serve as the college’s fifth president. Recently, the Board announced Dr. Knetl as the final candidate after a nationwide search that spanned the last several months.
Knetl serves as provost and executive vice president of academic and student affairs at Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan. As such, he has responsibilities for strategic planning and guiding all aspects of teaching and learning in support of student success.
He will start his new role at Waubonsee January 30, 2023 with a contract through June 30, 2025.
“I am eager to join the team of talented and dedicated faculty and staff at Waubonsee and appreciate the opportunity to continue the great work of community colleges in the state where I was born and raised,” said Dr. Knetl. “I am impressed by the College’s history of excellence and inspired by its desire to become a beacon of creativity and transformation for its students, staff, and community.”
Waubonsee’s president, Dr. Christine J. Sobek, will retire January 4, 2023 after serving in her role since July 2001. The Board appointed Dr. Diane Nyhammer, vice president of educational affairs, as interim president effective Jan. 5 – 29, 2023.
At the December 14 Board meeting, the Waubonsee Community College Board of Trustees recognized the leadership of Dr. Christine Sobek, president of Waubonsee Community College, with a special resolution.
The Waubonsee Community College Board of Trustees passed Resolution 23-03 December 14 to recognize and honor Dr. Christine Sobek for her commitment, dedication, and many years of distinguished services as the longest-serving president of Waubonsee Community College; it bestows upon her the title of President Emeritus. In addition, the Resolution establishes the Waubonsee Community College Dr. Christine J. Sobek Outstanding Administrator Award, which honors transformational leadership held at the highest ranks of the college.
The Dr. Christine J. Sobek Outstanding Administrator Award will recognize a Waubonsee administrator who has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to living out and leading others to live out the college’s vision and mission. The award celebrates a Waubonsee leader who regularly engages employees, listens to them, and makes positive changes in the future based on feedback, all while fostering a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It will honor those who have a strategic focus marked by excellence in decision-making, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and implementation of change, all leading to stronger institutional outcomes.
— Waubonsee Community College