By: Alexandra Brown
Dr. Andrés A. Oroz has entered his second semester as president of Wilbur Wright College. He brings over 17 years of experience in higher education administration, and as a first-generation college graduate, he is committed to fostering a supportive, and inclusive learning environment.
The Chicago City Colleges Chancellor Juan Salgado has a “district vision…on achieving a 55% completion rate of all our students” according to Oroz. Student achievement is an important pillar in helping Chicago City Colleges move forward.
Oroz plans to improve enrollment growth, to create new programs of study, and employ workforce-ready programs. Additionally, to continue to strengthen the rest of the programs available at Wright, including dual credit and early college programs.
Oroz plans to improve support for the diverse student population through orientation, student advising, and building learning communities to achieve student progression and degree completion.
For operational success, Oroz is reviewing policies and procedures including financial responsibilities to ensure that Wright’s limited resources are being used to “Support students, build partnerships, across campus, but also our communities.”
Oroz indents to foster community engagement. “We want to make sure that Wright Colleges is a home for cultural events for the community, not just for our students, but also a place where there’s dialogue about what is happening in our nation, in our state, in our city.”
President Oroz sits in his office’s seating area: his favorite spot to talk with students and staff.
Oroz envisions events to engage community and civic involvement like hosting debates and strengthening Wright’s community organization partners. Despite Congress’ amplified role within the Department of Education under Trump’s administration, Oroz assures there will be no constrictions on class offerings.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid may be affected in the coming months, Oroz states that very limited amounts of Wright’s funding is from the federal government. Currently there will not be any substantial changes for the school’s funding.
Executive orders are still coming in, however Oroz assures that “We belong to many organizations that support the mission of Community Colleges. We are working with them to help us understand what the impact will be on any changes of the federal government.”
Working with the new Director of Security, Gissella Limon, Oroz is on board with increasing the number of officers on campus and diversifying their locations instead of just the student center. There will also be advanced training for public safety officers currently in the works to implement rules about students carrying their IDs.
Oroz asserts that Wright’s IT department is working diligently with the district office to improve WIFI connections. Oroz states “We are in one of the old buildings. So networking and everything else, these buildings were not built with that in mind. So we have to work with what we have.”
The IT department and the district office are cognizant of the building’s infrastructure and are in collaboration to resolve internet issues.
Oroz has listened to students and faculty and is ready to address student concerns. He has a vision to move Wright College forward by cultivating student support, community empowerment, and engagement.
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