District Winners

2022 District 3 Pacesetter

Dr. David Sam
President
Elgin Community College
Elgin, IL

Dr. David Sam has served as president of Elgin Community College (ECC) since 2007. Hallmarks of his time at ECC are as varied as they are vital: academic excellence, student success and completion, reduction of student loan debt, community outreach, partnerships, workforce development, equity, diversity and inclusion, and financial prudence. Collaborating with a visionary and engaged board of trustees, outstanding and dedicated faculty, and a competent and committed team of administrators and staff, Dr. Sam has provided leadership for ECC’s extraordinary results: More than 50% of the 66,023 degrees and certificates ECC has awarded since its founding in 1949 have been during his presidency. 

Under his leadership, ECC joined the student success initiative Achieving the Dream in 2009, earning and maintaining a Leader College status from 2012 to February 2022, when ECC received the designation of Leader College of Distinction. The college has also been designated an Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence Top 150 Institution four times: 2014-15, 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2022-23. In April 2022, the Aspen Institute named ECC a Top 25 college among the 1,050 community colleges in the nation. 

In 2009, Dr. Sam led the college’s efforts to pass a $178 million capital referendum, which has transformed the campus into a modern, state-of-the-art learning environment. ECC’s financial stability and sound fiscal management have earned it the Aaa rating from Moody’s Investor Services since 2009 and an AA+ rating from Standard & Poor’s since 2010. 

A native of Ghana, Dr. Sam has impressive academic credentials. He is a cum laude graduate of Illinois State University with three bachelor’s degrees, in economics, political science and history. He holds a master’s degree in law and diplomacy and a doctorate in international relations degrees from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Additionally, he has an MBA in finance and marketing from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Akron Law School, and a Master of Laws in energy law and policy, with distinction, from the Center for Energy, Petroleum & Mineral Law & Policy at the University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom.

« Return to District Winners