Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker names Chicago State University President Zaldwaynaka (“Z”) Scott to Transition’s Educational Success Committee

Committee will support and advise Governor-elect on K-12 and higher education policy areas

CHICAGO, September 27, 2018 - Illinois Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker has named Chicago State University President Zaldwaynaka (“Z”) Scott to the transition’s Educational Success Committee, introducing the committee earlier today at a press conference held at Genevieve Melody STEM Elementary School, 3937 W. Wilcox Street.

The Committee was established to provide guidance on K-12 and higher education policies and issues for the incoming J.B. Pritzker-Juliana Stratton administration.” Consisting of 35 members, the Committee is one of several transition working groups made up of subject-matter experts to support and advise the Governor-elect.

“Every child in this state deserves a quality education, regardless of the color of their skin, the zip code they come from, or the income of their parents,” said J.B. Pritzker, Governor-elect of Illinois. “The transition’s Educational Success Committee will confront the challenges students, parents, and teachers face head on and with fierce urgency. If we want to put Springfield back on the side of working families, we must give every student the opportunities they deserve.”

Zaldwaynaka (“Z”) Scott was unanimously voted by the Chicago State University Board of Trustees’ to serve as the 12th permanent president of Chicago State University and assumed the role on July 1, 2018. Under President Scott’s leadership, CSU has a renewed focus on growing student enrollment, building the school’s regional and national reputation for scholarship and academic research, improving the resources and opportunities available to the student body, and increasing alumni and community engagement. As a distinguished business and civic leader, President Scott has played an influential role in the Chicago community for 30 years. Currently, President Scott serves on the Board of Directors for the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital Medical Center Board, where she co-chairs the board’s subcommittee on diversity, and Just the Beginning, an organization devoted to improving the diverse pipeline in the legal field. President Scott is also the former Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Housing Authority, the nation’s third largest housing authority. Prior to her current role, President Scott spent more than 16 years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois where she served as Chief of the General Crimes Section. She also served as Illinois’ first Executive Inspector General for the Agencies of the Governor and Public Universities.

“I am honored and inspired to be selected to serve as a member of the Governor-elect’s Educational Success Committee,” said President Scott. “I look forward to advocating for the needs of students across Illinois to help close racial/ethnic and socioeconomic achievement gaps, as well as identifying and addressing necessary areas of education reforms, in partnership with Governor-elect Pritzker.”

Scott will assume the role as a member of the transition’s Educational Success Committee effective immediately.

About Chicago State University

Chicago State University (CSU) is a public, comprehensive post-secondary institution that stands distinctively as one of the state’s oldest public universities, providing access to higher education for students of diverse backgrounds and educational needs. Founded in 1867, CSU is a nationally accredited university with five colleges- Health Sciences, Arts and Science, Business, Education, and Pharmacy – offering 36 undergraduate and 25 graduate degree-granting programs. Consistently evolving to reflect state-of-the-art trends in higher education, CSU prepares students for success in the twenty-first century. For more information, please visit www.csu.edu.