After over thirty-five years working and teaching at IVCC, Dean of Natural Sciences and Business, Ron Groleau, has retired.

After graduating from IVCC and University of Illinois with a bachelor’s and master’s degree, Ron Groleau started working part-time at IVCC in 1986.

He was hired full-time in 1991 where he worked as a biology lab instructor for one year before taking a full-time position teaching Anatomy and Physiology.

Then in 1995 Groleau took the position of dean where, even though not required to, he decided to continue teaching alongside his administrative duties.

In his time at IVCC, Groleau was also instrumental in the founding of the First Responder group. His reasoning for this was that at the time the city of Oglesby had some staffing issues and when an emergency occurred it would take a while for them to arrive on the scene. Groleau’s solution was to collect volunteers from the EMT program in order to help keep possible situations stable until an ambulance could arrive.

Groleau has also played a large role in the local community as a little league baseball and basketball coach and as a board member of St. Bede and YMCA. He says that these experience help broaden your perspective and understanding and help you help people.

Ron Groleau has witnessed many changes in IVCC over the years and stated that one of the biggest changes being the instructional technology available to students and staff. He also reflected that while IVCC’s support services have always been good, they are even better now with the wide array of available scholarships and programs like Project Success. One thing that hasn’t changed in his eyes however is that “Those that put in the work and are motivated to succeed are going to be successful.”

Groleau holds great passion towards his time at IVCC and stated that he has always wanted to be in the classroom, and that still holds true at the end of his career. In Ron Groleau’s words, “The best job in America is to be a community college instructor because of the connection you can make with your students and the impact you can have on them.” Groleau has also loved being able to mentor and work with his faculty and coworkers, and it appears they feel the same way. Jon Hubbell of the criminal justice program says “He has truly been the best supervisor I’ve ever worked for. Ron always took the time to listen and provide guidance, and it was clear that he genuinely cared.”

Another colleague, geology instructor Mike Phillips, had this to say, “His advice helped me become a much better educator.  He encouraged me to pursue professional development opportunities off-campus, and he helped ensure that the college provided the necessary support.  He also helped provide the funding to keep our geology lab up-to-date with equipment and supplies.  I will miss Ron.” After his retirement, Ron Groleau looks forward to travelling, volunteering, making a commitment to his health and wellness through exercise, and spending time with his family and friends.