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Heartland Community College names
Jessica Pickel Dean of Students
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[September 26, 2023]
 Heartland
Community College has named Jessica Pickel as the next Dean of
Students at the institution.
The Dean of Students serves as the authority for student conduct and
student appeals at the College. The position also is responsible for
providing leadership and oversight for student success focused
programming, including Success Education, Success Connections, Early
Alert, and Academic Standing programs.
Pickel comes to Heartland from Richland Community College in
Decatur, IL, where she most recently held the position of Executive
Dean of Academics and Liberal Arts. In this role, she oversaw
academic programming, dual credit, and other college initiatives.
She previously held the position of Assistant to the Dean of the
College of Education and Human Services at the University of
Illinois Springfield and served as Director of Adult Education at
Richland Community College.
While she has worked primarily in academics for the past five years,
Pickel says she is excited to return to student affairs as the Dean
of Students at Heartland Community College.
“My interest in and commitment to the community colleges mission
grew as a result of a graduate assistantship with the Office of
Community College Research and Leadership at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an advising internship at Richland
Community College,” said Pickel. “I am also well-acquainted with the
value and impact of a community college education. My mother changed
our family’s trajectory after completing an Associate Degree in
Nursing in 1993. And my father took advantage of English as Second
Language courses and continuing education to advance in his
industrial maintenance career.”
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A current doctoral candidate at
Northern Illinois University, Pickel also holds a Master of
Education Administration degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree
from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She serves
her local community as a board member for the Centro for
Hispanic and Immigrant Community Opportunities and as a Macon
County CASA.
Pickel begins at Heartland Community College on October 16. She
fills a vacancy that will be created by the retirement of
current Dean of Students Kim Kelly.
[Steve Fast
Assistant to the President, Public Information and Communication
Heartland Community College]
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