Cheryl Hyman

Early life

Born in Chicago, Hyman is a graduate of the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University and the Illinois Institute of Technology and began her post-secondary education at Olive-Harvey College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago. Hyman grew up on the West Side of Chicago in the Henry Horner Homes. She attended Orr High School but dropped out. After returning to high school and graduating, her interest in technology led her to a short-term training program and certificates. Shortly thereafter, the school closed and she said she found herself "without a marketable credential and substantial student debt." She then decided to go to Illinois Institute of Technology, but lacking the financial resources, attended Olive–Harvey College on the far South Side of Chicago, earned her associate degree and then transferred to the IIT, where she completed a bachelor’s in computer science."

After college, Hyman began working at Commonwealth Edison as a development analyst, then rose to become the company's director of government and legislative affairs. After 14 years at the company, she was chosen by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley to lead the City Colleges of Chicago as Chancellor.

City Colleges of Chicago

Hyman was appointed Chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago on April 1, 2010. As Chancellor, she is responsible for managing a more than half billion dollar budget, overseeing nearly 5,500 employees and ensuring the success of over 100,000 students.

In 2010, Hyman launched "Reinvention" at City Colleges of Chicago, an overhaul program/initiative designed to assess and recommend improvements to all City Colleges programs and operations. Its four goals are to increase the number of students earning degrees, increase the transfer rate to four-year institutions, improve outcomes for students needing remediation and increase the number of adult education and English as a second language students advancing to college-level courses.

Launched in 2011 by Hyman and Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, College to Careers partners the colleges with industry leaders in high-growth fields to address the skills gap in Chicago's workforce. The initiative draws industry partners to work with faculty and staff in redesigning occupational program curricula and facilities to better match the needs of employers. College to Careers has initially focused on fast-growing industries in the Chicago region, including healthcare and transportation, distribution and logistics.

The program has been recognized by Jill Biden, Second Lady of the United States in June 2012 as part of an effort "to shine a light on community colleges.” In April 2013, delegates from the World Bank visited Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Hyman at Harold Washington College to learn more about how the City Colleges of Chicago partner with industries in the College to Careers program. The purpose of the initiative was to determine whether the program could be duplicated around the world.

Outcomes

Since the launch of Reinvention, City Colleges has seen a marked improvement in student success outcomes. As of Fiscal Year 2015, City Colleges has more than doubled the graduation rate and degree awards, increased its credit enrollment, and nearly tripled the number of students who progress from adult education programs, like GED or ESL learning, into credit-earning college classes. All of these improvement were made while maintaining a balanced budget, saving $70 million and undertaking a $500 million capital plan.

Chicago Star Scholarship

Beginning in 2014, through the collaboration of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chancellor Cheryl Hyman, City Colleges of Chicago began offering qualifying students the Chicago Star Scholarship. Students who graduated from Chicago Public Schools, beginning in the Fall 2015 semester, could receive up to three years of classes at City Colleges of Chicago at no cost if they earned a high school GPA of 3.0, tested completion-ready in math and English, and enrolled in one of CCC's structured pathways.

By its second year, The Chicago Tribune reported the Star Scholarship program helped nearly 2,000 students attend college tuition free while posting strong fall-to-fall retention and GPAs. To help support these students' academic success after completing at CCC, the Chicago Star Scholarship program partnered with 15 four-year colleges and universities. Each of these partners committed to creating an opportunity that allows Star Scholars to continue their college education following a successful completion at CCC. These packages range in monetary value between $2,500 and nearly $50,000 each year, and include some of the top colleges in the state of Illinois, including; Columbia College, DePaul University, Dominican University, Governors State University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Loyola University, National Louis University, North Park University, Northeastern Illinois University, Northwestern University, Robert Morris University, the School at the Art Institute of Chicago, Roosevelt University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.