Moraine Valley Community College President Sylvia Jenkins will deliver Grambling State University’s spring commencement address in May.
“We are privileged to welcome Dr. Jenkins back home to GSU as our special guest and graduation speaker,” said GSU President Frank G. Pogue. “She’s a stellar academic, a great leader and a remarkable example of the type of professionals grown at our institution.”
Jenkins will speak at the May 9 ceremony at the 10 a.m. ceremony in the Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center on the university’s campus.
Jenkins leads a community college that serves about 36,000 students each year in Palos Hills, Ill., offering more than 100 degrees and certificates as well as an adult learner program and a day care center for students who need it while attending class. In 1986, Jenkins started at the community college as an adjunct librarian in the colleges learning resources center. She went on to become library coordinator in 1995, assistant dean of the Center for Teaching and Learning and library director in 2001. She was vice president of academic affairs from April 2010 until June 2012. She became the college’s fifth president on July 1, 2012.
Jenkins’ educational background began at Grambling State University, where she earned her bachelor’s in English education. She earned a master’s in library and information from the State University of New York at Albany, and received her doctorate in education and human resource studies with a specialization in community college leadership from Colorado State University-Fort Collins, Colo.
She serves on several boards, including the League for Innovation in the Community College, American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the Community Colleges for International Development (CCID). She is a member of the National Council on Black American Affairs and the Council for Advancement & Support of Education (CASE) as well as the Rotary Club of Moraine Valley. She is a member of the Chicago alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She and her husband, Craig, have four daughters, Carmen, Courtney, Christine, and Carol, and five grandchildren.