[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 202 (Wednesday, December 3, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





        CONGRATULATING DR. SHEILA QUIRK-BAILEY ON HER RETIREMENT

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. DARIN LaHOOD

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 3, 2025

  Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Dr. Sheila Quirk-
Bailey, President of Illinois Central College, for her outstanding 
leadership and over three decades of dedicated service to higher 
education. Since becoming president in 2016, Dr. Quirk-Bailey has 
guided Illinois Central College through a period of significant 
progress focused on student success, equity, and workforce development.
  Under her leadership, Illinois Central College achieved five 
consecutive semesters of enrollment growth, improved graduation and 
retention rates, and reduced developmental education placements by 
sixty-six percent while maintaining strong student outcomes. Dr. Quirk-
Bailey led the creation of nationally recognized workforce programs 
including the Workforce Empowerment Initiative, the Information 
Technology Workforce Accelerator, and the first prison education 
program in the Nation funded by federal Pell grants. The Workforce 
Empowerment Initiative alone has helped lift more than 1,200 
individuals out of poverty, with participants seeing an average 
increase of nearly thirty-three thousand dollars in yearly earnings.
  Dr. Quirk-Bailey also laid a strong foundation for ICC's next decade 
of growth. Through the College's strategic plan, she advanced a year-
round eight-week scheduling process, expanded micro and stackable 
credential pathways, supported the development of boot camps and 
competency-based education models, and guided the implementation of a 
new enterprise resource planning platform to modernize operations and 
meet future workforce demands.
  Central Illinois is fortunate to have had a leader whose vision, 
professionalism, and dedication to expanding educational opportunity, 
have strengthened our region for many years. Dr. Quirk-Bailey's 
unwavering commitment to student success and workforce advancement is 
truly inspiring, and her retirement marks the closure of a remarkable 
career devoted to improving lives through education. I am honored to 
recognize her for her extraordinary service and congratulate her on her 
well-earned retirement. I wish Dr. Quirk-Bailey and her loved ones the 
very best in the years ahead.

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