JJC president gives upbeat report on college as board controversies continue

President Clyne Namuo gave a bright outlook for Joliet Junior College on Tuesday while storm clouds continue to linger over the college’s board of trustees.

Namuo gave his annual State of the College speech Tuesday, pointing to growing enrollment, new programs, and plans to expand into Grundy County.

“Something you should know about me is that I have endless energy for this work,” Namuo told the audience for his speech at a JJC auditorium.

Meanwhile, the latest controversy on the board of trustees over who fills a seat vacated in August may not have ended.

Robert Wunderlich, a 44-year trustee who left the board in 2021, said he will file a lawsuit on Wednesday over the board’s reversal of a Sept. 25 vote that initially made him the seventh trustee.

Instead, the board this week in a 3-2 vote with one member abstaining appointed former student trustee Josh Stamborski to the seventh seat. The same 3-2 vote with one abstention was made on Wunderlich’s behalf on Sept. 25 before one trustee changed her vote to make it 3-3.

Wunderlich said he will seek a court decision before the next board meeting on Oct. 16 when trustees could vote on a new contract for Namuo.

Namuo was hired in April 2022 and much of his State of the College address dealt with developments at JJC in the past two years.

He said JJC has added nearly 2,000 students to its numbers in that time through a program aimed at lining up more high school students for credit courses through the college.

“We are leading the state of Illinois in dual credits,” Namuo said, adding that the program will bring more high school graduates to JJC. “If students earn dual credits from JJC, they’re more likely to choose JJC.”

He also emphasized a “Future Wolves” initiative, named after the school mascot, which brings students from kindergarten through fifth grade to the campus.

Other points Namuo emphasized in the speech included:

• A Mental Health and Wellness Center that will open in fall 2025 with five licensed clinicians

• $4.2 million in grants from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity that “will put JJC in the forefront of training workers in renewable energy.”

• A plan to expand JJC presence in Grundy County

“We remain committed to building a location in Morris that is right,” Namuo said.

Namuo said JJC fights a “stigma attached to community college” and pointed to the $4,530 tuition for full-time students as an advantage for students.

“I can’t promise to do it every year, but thanks to the support of our board of trustees over the last two years we’ve been able to hold our tuition flat,” Namuo said.

Namuo’s references to the board were upbeat, not hinting at the controversy characterized in recent developments.

Three trustees at the meeting were board Chairman Jim Budzinski, Diane Harris and Maureen Broderick.

Broderick in September was joined by fellow Trustee Michelle Lee in filing a lawsuit against Namuo and other board members over a censure vote taken by the board against Broderick earlier this year.