By Howard Packowitz
NORMAL – The Heartland Community College Board officially hired its next president Tuesday night, and also signed off on a new contract with the school’s full-time teachers.
Trustees unanimously approved a three-year contract with Keith Cornille, in which he’ll earn $220,000 in the first year. He’s eligible for raises each year after that.
“The job requires the president to do a lot of work, so the salary has to be competitive with that,” said Trustees Chairman Gregg Chadwick.
“There’s also the amount of experience a candidate would have in higher education or in a senior leadership position,” Chadwick also said.
Cornille also receives a $900 monthly automobile allowance, and the district is paying for his moving expenses from Wisconsin.
He’s been the vice president and chief student services officer at Madison Area Technical College.
Cornille did not attend Tuesday night’s meeting. He takes over July 1 for retiring President Rob Widmer.
Trustees also unanimously ratified a three-year contract with the 87 full-time teachers who are members of the Heartland Faculty Association.
Terms of the deal won’t be released until teachers vote on the package.
Heartland Vice President for Academic Affairs, Sarah Diel-Hunt, said negotiations were “highly collegial” and “positive.”
She said the two sides engaged in what she described as interspace bargaining.
“It’s a style of bargaining where each side identifies their interests. You don’t come in with solutions. You identify interests and you figure out collectively how you might solve issues within the contract,” Diel-Hunt said.
District and union negotiators started bargaining last November, and reached an agreement before the current contract expires June 30.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
