Tension over JJC building name

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Gena Proulx, president of Joliet Junior College, died Friday, August 12, 2011, at the age of 66. | Submitted photo

Updated: November 4, 2011 7:16PM

JOLIET — Joliet Junior College board members find themselves in an awkward situation.

Last month, board Vice Chairman Jeff May suggested at a meeting that the school name the new campus center after JJC President Gena Proulx, who was seriously ill with cancer. She died three days after the meeting, but she was aware of May’s suggestion.

Taken by surprise by the suggestion, May’s fellow trustees said they wanted to know the status of a new building naming policy before taking action.

At Tuesday’s board workshop meeting, Chairwoman Barbara DeLaney said the Proulx family was mistakenly under the impression the campus center would be named after Proulx during the building’s formal grand opening Sept. 15.

DeLaney choked back tears as she read an e-mail from one of Proulx’s daughters, and she said the school now finds itself in a difficult position because May may have spoken prematurely.

May was undeterred.

He said the board could vote to name the building after Proulx at its regular meeting Sept. 13 because there is no building naming policy in place now to prevent the action.

“If we choose to vote, we can do it,” he said.

A policy could still be adopted later, he added.

But in a poll of trustees during the workshop meeting, most agreed that JJC should wait for the naming policy to be approved before taking action on the campus center name.

“Gena was the one who was the most outspoken that we needed a policy in place,” said Trustee Susan Klen. “In honor of her wishes, we should get the right policy in place. … I really think her family will understand.”

DeLaney, who visited Proulx shortly before her death, said waiting for a policy will not prevent the board from naming the building after Proulx in the future.

“I would still vote to name this building in her honor,” she said.

Why is policy needed now?

Proulx’s husband, William, said in a letter sent to The Herald-News on Wednesday that he hopes the board carries through on May’s suggestion.

“I would find it hard to believe that there is any question about doing so,” he wrote.

Proulx detailed all the hours his wife put into working on the successful referendum that paid for the campus center and other master plan construction projects.

“One has to ask the question, why, all of a sudden, is a policy necessary to make such a simple decision?” he wrote.

Work and donations

Foundation Executive Director Kristin Mulvey presented a rough draft of a policy to the board. The JJC Foundation has a policy for how donations are handled, she said.

But while many JJC buildings have been named after individuals or businesses, there is no overall policy.

Mulvey said other community colleges name buildings to honor individuals for outstanding work or large donations. JJC already has examples of both forms.

For instance, the school’s gymnasium is named for A.A. Wills, who coached basketball at JJC for 33 seasons and still holds the record for the most wins at 668. The school’s Weitendorf Agricultural Education Center was named for John Weitendorf, who donated 32 acres and $2.2 million for the building on Laraway Road.

The Business and Technology Center was named for Vera Smith — a former student, teacher and the first female admissions counselor at the school — and her husband, Arthur. The late couple donated $4.9 million to the campus.

But JJC also has a room at its downtown Louis Joliet Renaissance Center that is named after Amerifed, a bank that no longer exists.

A naming policy would help prevent such problems in the future, board members agreed.