Peggy Heinrich will become Elgin Community College’s first female president when she assumes the post Jan. 1.
ECC’s Board of Trustees voted Thursday to appoint Heinrich to the position, which she has held on an interim basis since David Sam retired in July after 17 years at the helm. She will be the school’s ninth president in 75 years.
Heinrich has held a variety of titles at ECC since being hired 2006, most recently serving as vice president of teaching, learning and student development for eight years, a news release on her appointment said. Prior to that, she was the dean of adult/continuing education and workforce development for two years, dean of adult education for six years and associate dean of adult education for two years.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Peggy Heinrich as ECC’s next president,” Donna Redmer, chair of the ECC Board of Trustees, said in the release.
“Her focus on student success is well-aligned with ECC’s values and its commitment to improving lives through learning. Her leadership, experience, commitment and deep understanding of the college and community will build on ECC’s tradition of innovation and excellence as we look toward the future.”
Heinrich has held several leadership roles outside the college, including serving as associate director for adult education and family literacy with the Illinois Community College Board; director of programs for Literacy Chicago; adult literacy tutoring coordinator for the Albany Park Community Center; and consultant for various community-based organizations in Chicago, the release said.
She has taught English as a second language to adult learners and began her career teaching English in the Chicago Public School system.
Heinrich holds a doctorate in community college leadership from Ferris State University, where she received the 2017 Faculty Award for Distinguished Scholar-Practitioner. She earned her master’s degree in applied linguistics with a focus on teaching English as a second language from Northeastern Illinois University and a bachelor’s degree in secondary education English from DePaul University.
In 2022-23, Heinrich was named an Aspen Rising Presidents Fellow by the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program, the release said.
She is also the recipient of the 2023 YWCA Harriet Gifford and Hattie Griffin Education Leadership Award and ECC’s Leader of the Year Award in 2014 and 2018.
