Mastroianni to retire as RVC President

• was sad to read of Rock Valley College President Mike Mastroianni's decision to retire from his job in January 2017. The 18-year employee of the college, who served in a variety of positions, has been president since 2014.

  He's packed a whole lot of action into those three years. Under his tenure, guided by a strong, independent and forward-thinking board, Mastroianni oversaw building of the greatly expanded Aviation Maintenance Technology building at Chicago Rockford International Airport, where students are learning aviation-related skills that will lead them into well-paying careers, perhaps just a few yards away at AAR Corp.'s new maintenance, repair and overhaul twin hangars. Five hundred will be hired initially; the number of employees could double in a few years.

• AR has promised to interview RVC aviation graduates.

  Under Mastroianni, RVC's new, downtown Rockford campus is being constructed on the second floor of the News Tower. They sure are making a lot of noise upstairs!

  RVC and Northern Illinois University announced Tuesday an engineering partnership that will begin classes this fall.

  Finally, the Health sciences Center will start classes in 2017.

  That's a heck of a lot of work! Mastroianni deserves our heartfelt congratulations for a job well done.

  As the board begins its search for a new leader, I hope trustees will look for someone who will continue in the Mastroianni mold. Moving RVC forward is difficult right now, with state funding grinding to a halt, MAP grants ended and student enrollment down. Those are temporary situations, though.

  RVC is vitally important to the region's future, and the next college president has to believe in the mission the board has set for it.

  Chuck Sweeny: 815-987-1366; csweeny@rrstar.com; @chucksweeny

• Above is from (see second half of:  http://www.rrstar.com/news/20160224/chuck-sweeny-state-rep-john-cabello-introduces-illinois-police-chase-bill/?Start=2