New Sandburg President settling into role, talks area partnerships

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It’s been a month since Dr. Seamus Reilly officially took over as president of Carl Sandburg College.

Until taking the Sandburg job, Dr. Reilly had been with Parkland Community College where he worked as a faculty member before taking on the role of vice president of institutional advancement.

Reilly tells WGIL that he took the opportunity at Sandburg to be able to help more people with their education, adding that the quality of the community and of the school were a strong deciding factor.

“The institution is fantastic. It’s got a fantastic reputation throughout the state and it’s not so much the size of the institution as what the [school] puts out,” said Reilly. “It’s like the old adage about the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. And I think Sandburg is well positioned to be a leader in this part of the region.”

He says that both Sandburg and Parkland are very similar in many regards, including the strong focus on career technical education as well as the caliber of faculty, staff, and students.

Since starting in role in June Reilly has been meeting with faculty and staff, meeting with area leaders, and learning about issues going on in the community.

Reilly tells WGIL he’s met with groups like the Knox County Area Partnership for Economic Development and other organizations to help get a sense of the area and the community.

He says that it’s crucial to create a well educated workforce that will help grow the community.

“Part of what our piece is is to continue to support and grow the community that we live in. Working also with [the] Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which provides a lot of funding for students to go through and gain training and educational opportunities. I think it’s a collaborative partnership.”

He says that collaborative partnership will help the college.

Reilly said that as the school develops their educational resources and technology, they need to keep local employers aware of the opportunities their providing to the future workforce.

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