Glen Ellyn, Nov. 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- College of DuPage Board of Trustees unanimously voted to appoint Dr. Brian W. Caputo, Vice President of Administration and CFO at the College, as the new interim president. Dr. Caputo will begin his post Jan. 1, 2019 to replace outgoing President Dr. Ann Rondeau, who will step down at the end of the year to become president at the Naval Postgraduate School.
Board Chairman Deanne Mazzochi expressed her appreciation of Dr. Caputo’s broad leadership and executive experience as well as his involvement in every major College functional area. Mazzochi added that Dr. Caputo’s experience and versatility will serve College of DuPage well as he leads the institution to the next level.
“Since his arrival at the College, Dr. Caputo has protected the College's financial and institutional health in addition to ensuring critical initiatives - from Guided Pathways to facilities management to Innovation DuPage and others - have moved towards success,” she said. “Our stakeholders agreed that Dr. Caputo would be ideal to lead our institution following Dr. Rondeau's departure. The Board is looking forward to our continued success under his leadership and in conjunction with members of the Cabinet.”
Dr. Caputo said he is deeply humbled by the Board of Trustees’ appointment as the seventh president of College of DuPage. He and his wife, Karen, have lived in the district for 20 years and their three children all attended College of DuPage.
“The College of DuPage community is comprised of extraordinarily competent, enthusiastic and dedicated faculty and staff striving to create the best possible educational experience for our students,” he said. “It is an honor and a privilege to lead such an exceptional institution. I am all in.”
Joining the College in March 2017, Dr. Caputo has been instrumental in helping to strengthen a number of key initiatives in partnership with the Board, executive leadership, faculty, staff and students. Under Dr. Caputo’s leadership, the College’s general obligation bond rating improved from AA to AA+ with Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service affirmed the College’s Aa1 rating as well as shifted its outlook from stable to positive. In addition, Dr. Caputo was directly responsible for the creation of the College’s inaugural Budget-In-Brief and Popular Annual Financial Report documents, both of which received national recognition in serving to improve financial transparency.
Dr. Caputo has been integrally involved in the two major academic intiatives at the college: Guided Pathways and Project Hire-Ed. He is a member of the Pathways Steering Committee and its Mapping Working Group as well as the Project Hire-Ed Steering Committee. The Guided Pathways initiative seeks to help students choose, enter, and complete a program of study aligned with the student’s goals for employment and and further education. Project Hire-Ed is a workforce development program designed to better align post-secondary education with certain workforce skill requirements through partnerships with area employers.
Moreover, Dr. Caputo was a member of the executive team that worked to establish Innovation DuPage, a cooperative venture that promotes business growth and job creation connecting small businesses with the necessary resources to thrive, while providing new owners with the tools to succeed. Innovation DuPage was formed collaboratively with multiple governmental, economic development, and academic organizations.
Dr. Caputo has a range of experience in higher education, having previously served as a full-time faculty member at Central Michigan University. He has served as an adjunct faculty member at Northern Illinois University (NIU) and a guest lecturer in numerous academic and professional capacities.
He earned a Bachelor of Science from the renowned West Point, a Master of Science in Accountancy from DePaul University, and a Master of Public Administration from NIU. Dr. Caputo also earned a Ph.D. from NIU with public administration, public policy, and government finance as fields of study.
Dr. Caputo is a Certified Public Accountant as well as a Certified Public Finance Officer and in 2015, he became a Board Member of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). The GASB is a seven-member board that establishes accounting and financial reporting standards for units of state and local government in the United States, including public institutions of higher education.
Bringing more than 35 years of leadership and executive experience to the role of interim president, Dr. Caputo served as Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer of the City of Aurora for nearly 19 years prior to becoming a vice president at College of DuPage.
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