College of Lake County (CLC) put the new 2030 Strategic Plan in the spotlight at the Sept. 25 State of the College event. The celebration with local leaders, students and community members featured CLC’s strong partnerships, recent accomplishments and bold vision for the future.

The gathering took place at the Advanced Technology Center in Gurnee and showcased CLC’s ongoing efforts to support both students and the wider community while highlighting upcoming initiatives.

“We are celebrating the launch of CLC’s 2030 Strategic Plan with our community,” said CLC President Dr. Lori Suddick. “When we gathered this time last year, we spoke of the importance that we need to dream big. We reflected on the power of wonder, considering what community outcomes we wanted to imagine into reality for Lake County, and we pondered how we should measure success. This kicked off our year-long, broad and inclusive strategic planning process.”

The 2030 Strategic Plan focuses on three pillars: student access and success, community vibrancy and future-ready organization, aiming to integrate services and measure broader student impact. Input for the plan was given by community members as young as middle schoolers, CLC’s future learners.

“While we celebrate our progress, we are not satisfied and know that we have more work to do,” Suddick said. “Being an agile organization is required to face the headwinds ahead. We know that sustained record-setting improvements in student outcomes will not continue without our continued evolution.”

A panel of community leaders including Frank Baiocchi, Hunter Family Foundation executive director; Christopher Geocaris, Warren Township High School District 121 assistant superintendent of instructional services and Jennifer Serino, Lake County Workforce Development Board executive director, spoke at the event. Each shared their own insights on connectedness within the Lake County community including pathways for students after high school, access to a workforce pipeline and the role of a community college.

For a more detailed look at CLC’s work, read the Community Impact Report online. Read the latest special issue of the CLC Connects Magazine for a summary of the 2024 Strategic Plan and more.

Read the story published in the Lake County News-Sun.