College of DuPage Board Chair Maureen Dunne Elected to ACCT Board of Directors

Neurodiversity expert and incoming ICCTA President to join top national governing body overseeing U.S. community college system

GLEN ELLYN, Ill. - December 8, 2021 - (Newswire.com)

College of DuPage is proud to congratulate Board Chair Maureen Dunne, Ph.D., following her election to the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Board of Directors. Dunne will serve a three-year term on the ACCT Board, helping to guide more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees impacting more than 12 million students attending over 1,200 community colleges across the United States.

Dunne, a Chicago-area innovator, was elected to the national board of directors during the ACCT's 2021 Leadership Congress in San Diego, where College of DuPage (COD) President Dr. Brian Caputo congratulated Dunne on her expanded leadership role within the U.S. community college system.

"Dr. Dunne is a tireless advocate of student success at College of DuPage and within America's community college system," stated Dr. Caputo. "Through her leadership in the higher education system, the public-private partnerships she's crafted, and her own ventures, Maureen has demonstrated rare commitment to charting the future of job readiness in her local community. She has also led vital initiatives at the national level, especially for neurodiverse students and jobseekers. I know she will help COD continue to play an instrumental role in shaping the lives of tomorrow's leaders as communities across the country brace for a rapidly evolving social and economic future."

A COD graduate, Dunne obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees from The University of Chicago, a master's from London School of Economics, and a doctorate in cognitive sciences from Oxford University, where she attended as the first-ever community college graduate to be granted the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.

"I know firsthand the value of a community college education, and I am proud to use my voice, access, and experience on behalf of those who stand to benefit most from a system of continual learning and progress," Dunne said. "My goal is to champion solutions that help communities transform obstacles into opportunities, and I am excited to work with the White House, the United States Congress, and the Departments of Education and Labor in advocating the community college mission along with my amazing and dedicated colleagues at the ACCT."

In addition to her academic accomplishments and her work founding and advising venture-backed technology companies, Dr. Dunne has become a leading voice in the emerging neurodiversity movement. She has spent over 30 years working with neurodiverse populations and completed her doctoral research on neurodiversity at Oxford University, as well as fellowship work at Harvard/MIT.

She is the co-founder and managing partner of the first social impact investment association focused on neurodiversity, the creator of a Coding Bootcamp program designed to help local high school students expand career potential through advancing technological literacy, the creator of the Dr. Maureen N. Dunne Autism Student Success Scholarship, and the founder of the Transition2Success program, which helps neurodiverse students and jobseekers better handle the transition into the job market or a higher learning institution.

Dr. Dunne is currently both a faculty affiliate with the Discovery Partners Institute and an adjunct faculty member at the Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she serves as the Principal Investigator/Director of the "Autism and Innovation Initiative" with a grant from the Discovery Partners Institute, a major public/private innovation ecosystem. She also recently served as a member of the organizing committee directing the 2021 Stanford Neurodiversity Summit hosted by Stanford University.

College of DuPage is one of the largest single-campus community colleges in the United States, serving a district of more than 1.2 million residents, employing over 2,500 staff and faculty, and enrolling approximately 21,000 students each fall. Dr. Dunne was elected Chair of the College's Board of Trustees in April 2021 and President-elect of the Illinois Community College Trustees Association (ICCTA) in June 2021.

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Original Source: College of DuPage Board Chair Maureen Dunne Elected to ACCT Board of Directors