Joyce Ester, a native of the south suburbs, has been tentatively chosen as the new president of Governors State University, according to the University Park school.
Ester, president of Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota, is originally from Phoenix and attended Thornridge High School in Dolton.
She was among three finalists for the GSU position and would become the university’s seventh president, following Cheryl Green. Green was president for four years and ended her tenure March 1.
Ester has been president of Normandale since 2014, and her last day there will be June 3, according to the school.
Governors State said it had received 62 applications for the president’s position, and that Ester was one of three finalists interviewed in late February.
The board of trustees is expected to vote April 24 on Ester’s appointment, the university said Tuesday in a message to faculty, staff and students. Subject to board approval, Ester would assume her role at GSU on July 1, the university said.
James Kvedaras, board chairman, said in a statement he and the board “are honored to begin a new chapter in the university’s history with the inspired leadership of Dr. Ester.”
“I look forward to joining this community who is dedicated to student success and whose core value of ‘deliberate university focus on student achievement of academic, professional and personal goals’ resonates deeply with my own,” Ester said in the statement.
Normandale Community College is the largest college and third largest institution in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, serving more than 14,000 credit students and more than 2,000 noncredit students annually, according to Governors State.
Under Ester’s leadership, Normandale saw an 18% enrollment increase among students of color between 2015-2020 and has continued to be one of the top transfer institutions in the state, according to GSU.
Ester brings more than 30 years of experience in various roles throughout academia that addressed academic and student affairs, faculty and staff governance, and financial management, according to the university.
Before joining Normandale, Ester was president for two years of Kennedy-King College, one of seven schools that comprise City Colleges of Chicago.
Ester was honored as a city of Bloomington Pioneer in 2023 for her impact on the local community and the college’s equity initiatives, according to Normandale. She was also selected as a 2024 Women in Business honoree by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, according to the college.
Ester holds a Ph.D. in Education from the University of California, Santa Barbara; a master of arts in Education from the University of California, Santa Barbara; and a bachelor of arts in Sociology from Northern Illinois University, according to her biographical information.
