Maureen Dunne Sworn in on College of DuPage Board of Trustees
Autism Community Ventures, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping integrate those on the autism spectrum into 21st century professions, is proud to announce that its director, Dr. Maureen Dunne, was recently sworn in as a member of 2 new members of their Board of Trustees at the College of DuPage. Dr. Dunne was the top vote in the election by a wide margin, bringing over 34 percent of the entire vote.
"I'm thrilled to have been chosen to serve District 502 and return to my alma mater as a new Trustee. I think my background as an alum and a tech executive will supply a exceptional perspective since the College faces a number of new and existing challenges," said Dr. Dunne. Among those challenges, COD will be ushering in a fresh leadership era as the Board of Trustees will be tasked while fixing enrollment trends to hire its president.
A COD alum, Dunne signifies the very first community college graduate on earth to get the Rhodes Scholarship. She attended the DuPage after graduating high school early as a junior. Dunne was before transferring to the University of Chicago, where she finished simultaneous bachelors and master's degrees and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She then proceeded on to Oxford University, where she completed her doctoral degree.
Dr. Dunne was awarded the Outstanding Alumni Award from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) along with a group of other people with distinguished career documents, such as Dick Vermeil, Bruce Merrifield (Nobel Laureate) and Val Azzoli (previously President of Atlantic Records). Dr. Bruce Merrifield, a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry referred to Maureen as"ethical, innovative, and inspirational."
In addition to her academic achievements, Dr. Dunne has co-founded, led and managed venture-backed technology companies. Dunne also currently serves on the Board of Directors of Access to Care, also on the board member of the Downers Grove Economic Development Corporation. A community leader, she is a member of a co-founder of a nonprofit initiative that ignites coding boot camps and Rotary. COD President Michael T. Murphy (1994-2003) wrote this about Maureen: "Some individuals set out to be something. Others set out to do something. Maureen belongs to the latter group."
Dunne's campaign for COD Trustee centered on the importance of a proactive strategy to help prepare District 502 residents required to remain aggressive. Dunne earned all major institutional endorsements, including the endorsement from the Daily Herald, the Courier, APNA USA and the COD Faculty Association.
Dunne, the mom of triplets, noted: "When I was a student at COD, the motto was'Lifelong Learning'. Never has this been more accurate. Because of a rapidly changing employment landscape, it is already becoming commonplace to have several careers during the lifetime of one. The community school of the future will have to evolve into the primary community source' for retooling skills. A proactive strategy to 21st-century skill advancement is critical given the inevitable transformative impact of artificial intelligence and automation."
Dr. Dunne has also established multiple scholarship programs to support students with autism. Learn more about press release service here.