Eric W. Knox: 2025 candidate for Harper College Board

Bio

Office sought: Harper College District 512 board (Vote for 2)

City: Rolling Meadows

Age: 52

Occupation: Chief information security officer

Previous offices held: None

Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you?

Harper has had a huge impact on my life and my family. My mother, wife, younger son and I have all been Harper students over the years. I credit my career in IT to one of my earliest professors at Harper, who truly inspired me to start down that path and taught me the value of continual learning. I’m running for the board of trustees because I believe in Harper’s mission and the value it brings to the community, and I hope to give back to an organization that has done so much for me.

In tough economic times, many students (and working professionals) turn to a community college for its educational value. How do you ensure that a person’s financial sacrifice results in an educational benefit?

I think Harper has done an excellent job of building a variety of programs to help ensure that students get value for their tuition dollars and to set them up for future success. Part of that comes from the efforts to keep tuition and fees under control, as evidenced by recent board conversations around proposed changes.

I attended several meetings where the topic was discussed, and it was clear that the impact to students, their ability to afford a Harper education, and the value they would get from that education were top priorities. Harper gives students options for credit classes, certificate programs, and continuing education to meet them where they are in their learning journey.

The school also has a wide variety of financial assistance available to students who need it. I know that college is a big investment and commitment for students, but I think that Harper does a good job of providing value for that investment.

How would you describe the state of your college’s finances? What issues will your district have to confront in coming years and what measures do you support to address them? If you believe cuts are necessary, what programs and expenses should be reduced or eliminated? On the income side, do you support any tax or fee increases?

I believe Harper is well positioned financially to continue providing educational programs for the community. There’s always a level of risk when you rely on outside funding whether it’s from state or federal sources, but what I’ve observed is that Harper is making smart decisions about investments in programs, operations and growth.

The school is positioned to be able to live within its means — meaning to continue providing education for the foreseeable future based on its own income model with tuition and fees. Projects and growth opportunities that require additional funding are carefully considered and those funding models reviewed before decisions are made.

As for any possible tax or fee increases, I believe that any approval would have to be directly linked to a demonstrated need within the community. Harper is a community resource, so if the community agrees there is a need, then I would be open to discussion around funding.

What are three specific non-financial challenges your community college will have to face in the next four years and what are your thoughts about how each should be addressed?

1.) Changing Political/Cultural Landscape: Harper will need to ensure that programs and school culture remain relevant for the students and our community, while still ensuring access to support and funding at the state and federal levels.

2.) Pace of change: Students need access to courses and materials that are relevant in the workplace today, and it takes a long time to develop curriculum. The Business and Industry Leadership Team (BILT) model, which was recently used to develop several new programs, is one solution.

3.) On-campus vs. remote learning. Harper has a beautiful campus with some outstanding facilities, but since the pandemic they have also made a lot of investments in remote learning. Feedback from students indicates that remote and blended learning are here to stay, so Harper will need to continue to find effective ways to provide education across all models.

Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach agreement and manage school district policy? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions of your school board.

I have extensive experience working in group settings and leading effective teams. Outside of work, I have served as church council president as well as being committee chairman for both a Boy Scout Troop and a Cub Scout Pack.

More relevant here, though, is my professional experience. As the chief information security officer for my company, I have accountability for all IT related policies and standards. This means that I have to work closely with other IT leaders as well as our business leaders, legal, compliance, privacy and other departments to develop, review and enforce policies on a daily basis.

I have a collaborative style, and am a consensus builder by nature. That means that I like to listen to what people have to say, but when push comes to shove, I'm not afraid to make the hard decisions when they need to be made. I would bring that same spirit of collaboration to the Harper board.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

There are a few things which, combined, make me the best candidate for this position. First, I have deep roots at Harper, having experienced the school’s growth over the years and seen the positive impact it can have on students and our community.

Second, I’ve personally experienced higher education in several formats and at several schools, which gives me a unique perspective. In addition to my time at Harper I have a bachelor’s degree from Roosevelt University, a master’s degree from DePaul where I took all of my classes online, an Executive MBA from University of Illinois where I took classes in a cohort.

Finally, I believe I am the only candidate who is actively working in industry today. This gives me perspective as an employer who knows what skills and characteristics we are looking for in jobseekers coming out of college today.

What’s one good idea you have to better your district that no one is talking about yet?

I'd like to see a structure similar to the BILT model that brings together professionals from industry as well as educators and administrators, but with the focus being on developing students’ soft skills and not just academic curriculum.

As an employer, I have seen many new workers who enter the workplace completely unprepared for the realities of day-to-day work. My idea would be to bring together this group of people to help develop methods to teaching students the things that they won’t learn in a classroom, but that will help them to be successful in life.