Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, Illinois, enrolls about 5,700 undergraduate students in its two-year degree programs. Women make up about 60 percent of the student body at Prairie State. The college has announced three finalists for the position of president. All candidates will visit campus early next month for interviews and public forums. Two of the three finalists are women.
Valerie R. Roberson currently is vice president for academic affairs at Joliet Junior College in Illinois. She is the former president of Olive-Harvey College and was vice president for adult education at the City Colleges of Chicago.
Dr. Roberson is a graduate of Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, where she majored in psychology. She earned a master’s degree at Roosevelt University and a doctorate in higher education administration from Illinois State University.
Terri Winfree is the vice president of community and economic development at Prairie State College. Previously, she has served the college as associate dean and dean of continuing professional education.
Dr. Winfree earned an associate’s degree at Prairie State and a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in communication at Governors State University in University Park, Illinois. She holds a doctoral degree from Colorado State University.
Dr. Soufleris, a three-time alumna of the State University of New York System, has more than 35 years of higher education experience spanning student affairs, enrollment management, retention, and student success initiatives.
Most recently, Dr. Van Vlerah served as vice president for student success and institutional strategy at Manchester University in Indiana. She is slated to become the fifteenth president of Notre Dame of Maryland University on July 6.
Dr. Egan comes to her new role as president of Bennington College from Connecticut College, where she has been serving as the Fuller-Maathai Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectionality Studies, dean of the faculty, and chief academic officer.
Dr. Pfluger has spent the past year as Bakersfield College's interim president. She previously served as vice chancellor of educational services and student success at the Kern Community College District.
Dr. Geneco comes to her new role from Tufts University in Massachusetts, where she has served as provost for the past four years. She is slated become the University at Buffalo's first woman president on August 10.