Academic Affairs

Catharine O’Connell joined Illinois College as Provost in the summer of 2016. President Farley created the position of Provost to foster integration across all areas of the student experience: academic, co-curricular, residential, and extra-curricular. Since joining the IC community, Provost O’Connell has focused intensively on student success, including securing and administering a Title III Strengthening Institutions grant for over $2 million. As part of that initiative, student support services previously scattered across campus were co-located in Lincoln Hall through a renovation to make the space welcoming to students (including the addition of a Starbucks!). Other efforts have included the creation of Academic Coach positions, the addition of SIs (student supplemental instructors) for many ‘off ramp’ introductory-level classes, and the expansion of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Provost O’Connell has also been actively involved in academic program and faculty development. During her time at IC a dozen new majors have been developed in such areas as Actuarial Science, Agribusiness, Criminal Justice, Health Sciences, and Nursing. In addition, fully online programs have been added and there has been extensive development in the area of technologically-enhanced pedagogies. More than 30 new full-time faculty members have been added in the past five years, with hiring focused on commitment to serving students and promoting their success. Before coming to IC, Provost O’Connell served as chief academic officer at two other small, private colleges, Mary Baldwin College (now University) in Virginia and Defiance College in Ohio. She also served as dean at Cabrini College in Pennsylvania and as tenured faculty member and department chair at St. John Fisher College in New York. Throughout her career she has been committed to the mission of small colleges, believing that they are best positioned to provide the personal attention and hands-on learning opportunities that make the college experience transformational. Provost O’Connell’s teaching has focused on American literature and cultural history, with particular focus on the writing of women and African-Americans in the 19th Century. She has presented at numerous professional meetings on such topics as community-based research, global and civic education, and small college leadership.