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Dr. Jamel SC Wright arrived at Eureka College in 2014 as the Special Assistant to the President and later as Vice President of Strategic & Diversity Initiatives. While at the College, Dr. Wright has successfully led the effort to update the College’s strategic plan, enhance communications, overhaul the Title IX policy and processes on sexual discrimination, work collaboratively with human resources to examine and refine hiring practices, establish strategic community partnerships, and attract renowned speakers like John Carlos from the 1968 Olympics to the campus.

In the fall of 2015 the Eureka College Board of Trustees announced Dr. Wright’s appointment as interim president, which began on July 1, 2016 and ended on June 30, 2017 when the Board announced that she would be become the 27th president.  She is the first woman and African American to serve as president of this 165-year-old institution.  Dr. Wright received the 2019 Mayors Community Service Award during Peoria (IL) Mayor Jim Ardis’ State of the City address.

Wright was one of several experts tapped to serve on the Ferguson Commission’s Citizen Law Enforcement Working Group (Ferguson, Mo) on community policing, racial profiling, use of force and mass demonstrations. Wright’s career reveals her enduring passion for education and servant leadership. She was Coordinator of the America Reads Program, President of the St. Joseph Area Literacy Coalition, and a teacher and trainer with the Children’s Defense Fund’s Freedom School Initiative. After recognizing her calling in higher education, she embarked on a 20-year career in the field, including a broad range of experiences at Boston College, Saint Louis University and the University of Kansas.

Dr. Wright is a St. Louis, Mo. native, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and participates in many organizations and community efforts. She enjoys spending time with family, especially her daughter Kaiya, her stepson TJ and her husband, Telly. Dr. Wright received a doctorate and a master’s degree, both from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, and a bachelor’s degree from Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph, Mo., all in communication studies.

When Barbara A. Farley joined Illinois College as its 14th president in 2013, she brought with her the deep-rooted belief that the world needs more colleges like Illinois College. Since her first day on campus, President Farley has been making that case to the world and has defined a vision for the College to inspire achievement and empower students to make a difference.

President Farley strives each day to discover what students are excited about and the best ways to support their success — whether that means cheering from the sidelines of a sporting event or shining a spotlight on their student-faculty research. She is a leader who bases her definition of success on the achievements of the students and alumni of the institution that she leads. They serve as ambassadors who make the undeniable case for Illinois College each day as they use their education to make a difference in the world wherever they go.

During her presidency, Illinois College has reached new heights in donor engagement and giving, celebrated breakthroughs in academic innovation, upgraded its world-class learning facilities and experienced a 10-year high in enrollment. Under her leadership, student access to life-changing opportunities at IC — like BreakAway trips, internships and student-faculty research — has grown. She has united the College in its mission, giving students an environment that develops their minds, enriches their spirits and nurtures their unique gifts and talents. President Farley can regularly be found on campus, whether she is detailing the complexities of strategic growth during a town hall meeting or lending a hand to help new students and their families on move-in day. She also travels far and wide to share the Illinois College story.

In her journey to becoming the first female president of Illinois College, Dr. Farley has had many professional experiences that have convinced her of the value of small, independent colleges. She has taught and provided leadership at five such institutions since 1985, including her most recent role prior to IC, as vice president of academic affairs and dean of Augsburg College in the heart of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The insight she gained as a professor and academic dean inspired her hands-on leadership style which can most aptly be described as collaborative. She values teamwork and has a remarkable ability to listen and consider the many diverse perspectives within the Illinois College community. From students and faculty to staff, trustees, alumni and friends of the College — she is often the glue that connects each corner of IC’s vibrant learning community.

President Farley works closely with other leaders in higher education to share ideas and develop the best strategies for preparing students for the challenges of 21st-century careers. She brings wisdom to her role cultivated during her studies at Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, where she earned her master’s degree and Ph.D. in business administration. She is active nationally in higher education, currently serving as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Council of Independent Colleges Board of Directors and as chair of the Midwest Conference Presidents’ Council. Farley is also invested in the future of health care in the region, serving on the Board of Directors for both Memorial Health and Jacksonville Memorial Hospital. She served previously as president of the Associated Colleges of Illinois, as part of the Tax Policy Committee for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, on the board of directors for the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities, and on the Executive Committee for the Federation of Illinois Independent Colleges and Universities.

A native of Connecticut, Andy McGadney earned his BA at Wesleyan University, majoring in Sociology and African American Studies. He later earned a Master of Public Administration and Policy from Columbia University and an EdD in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to his appointment at Knox College, he served as Vice President and Dean of Student Advancement at Colby College, following three years as Colby’s Vice President and Secretary of the College, a role that made him the principal liaison to the Board of Trustees. Prior to Colby he was Vice President for University Advancement at Clark University in Worcester, MA. In that role, McGadney led fundraising efforts and instituted new infrastructure to plan, launch, and execute a $125 million comprehensive campaign. He also led efforts to improve student and alumni affinity at Clark.

Since arriving at Knox McGadney has led the effort to develop a bold and ambitious framework for growth that culminated in a strategic planning framework endorsed by the Knox College Board of Trustees in the fall of 2022. McGadney has moved several major strategic initiatives forward in his first two years including securing an anonymous lead gift to begin the planning, design, and construction of a new year-round facility at the College’s Green Oaks Biological Field Station that greatly enhances the offerings at Green Oaks and the accessibility for a broader range of faculty, students, and members of the Knox community. He also led the College through its first ever credit rating, a major debt refinance, and the return to a primarily residential and in-person educational program following closure and changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. McGadney continues to work to prepare Knox for its first comprehensive fundraising campaign in over 20 years, build and strengthen relationships with the Galesburg and local communities, and grow enrollment.

President McGadney has served on several non-profit and community boards, including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and as an alumni trustee at his alma mater, Wesleyan University. He currently serves on the boards of the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities, Associated Colleges of the Midwest, F & M Bank in Galesburg, and Knox County Area Partnership for Economic Development.

McGadney and his wife Camille reside in Galesburg and have three children.