Patricia T. Bergeson
Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel
Patricia (Pat) T. Bergeson is Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel of Columbia College Chicago. She began her legal career at a prominent Chicago law firm, specializing in litigation and trial work, and became a partner there. She later was named deputy corporation counsel for the City of Chicago and served as acting corporation counsel under Mayor Richard M. Daley. Her prior higher education experience includes the position of associate general counsel at the University of Chicago, and general counsel of Rosalind Franklin University. Ms. Bergeson has tried jury cases in tort, contract, employment, fraud, and criminal matters, and settled and mediated hundreds of cases to resolution. She has extensive counselling experience in all areas of higher education law, has spoken and written frequently on non-profit governance and diverse legal topics, and develops academic law training workshops for other institutions of higher learning.
A graduate of the Honors College at Michigan State University, she obtained her law degree cum laude from Notre Dame Law School. Ms. Bergeson has served on the board of the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation, the Illinois Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, and is a former panel attorney for the Federal Defender Program for the Northern District of Illinois.
Preferred Contact Information
Email: pbergeson@colum.edu
Phone: (312) 369-7478
Address:
Columbia College Chicago
600 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60605
Marcella David
Senior Vice President and Provost
Marcella David joined the college as senior vice president and provost in June 2019. Prior to arriving at Columbia, she was the Betty T. Ferguson Visiting Professor of Law at Florida State University. David previously served as the chief academic officer at FAMU, one of the nation's top historically black colleges and universities with almost 10,000 students across a broad range of disciplines.
Prior to FAMU, David held administrative leadership roles at the University of Iowa, including associate dean of the College of Law and special assistant to the president for equal opportunity and diversity. She also has been a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, a visiting assistant professor at the University of Chicago Law School, and a Ford Foundation Fellow in Public International Law at Harvard Law School. Her research interests include the use of economic and other sanctions, international criminal law, and questions related to international organizations.
David received her BS in Computer Science and Systems Engineering and a minor in music theory and analysis from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York and her JD magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School.
Preferred Contact Information
Email: mdavid@colum.edu
Phone: (312) 369-7495
Address:
Columbia College Chicago
600 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60605
Michael A. Joseph
Senior Vice President of Enrollment Management and Retention
Michael A. Joseph joined Columbia in July 2018 as the college's first Vice President of Enrollment Management. Joseph oversees the college's freshman and transfer student recruitment activities and all enrollment-related marketing efforts, as well as the Student Financial Services Office.
A seasoned senior administrator and admissions professional with over 30 years of experience in the field, Joseph came to Columbia from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he worked since 2011. He was originally hired as the university's Vice President for Enrollment Management, but his portfolio eventually expanded to include management responsibility for its integrated marketing and intercollegiate athletics programs.
During his tenure at Valparaiso, he oversaw both freshman and transfer student enrollment growth and an improvement in the academic profile of entering freshman classes. He has also held chief enrollment management officer positions at the University of Detroit Mercy, North Central College in Naperville, and Dominican University in River Forest. He began his career in 1981 as an admissions counselor at his undergraduate alma mater, Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia, and subsequently moved into positions of progressively responsible experience at Kentucky Wesleyan College, Mount Vernon College, and College Misericordia, where he also earned his MA in organizational management.
Preferred Contact Information
Email: mijoseph@colum.edu
Phone: (312) 369-7114
Address:
Columbia College Chicago
600 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60605
Charles C. Kimball II
Special Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives
Dr. Charles Kimball has been the special assistant to the president for strategic initiatives since November 2013. In that capacity, he undertakes writing and editing duties on the president's behalf; provides advice and support to the president, the president's Cabinet, and the president's office on strategic planning, communications, Board governance, and accreditation; co-staffs the Board of Trustees' Governance Committee; and serves as a member of the Commencement planning team. He previously worked with President Kim at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was a senior staff assistant in the president's office from 2004 to 2007. He held a similar position at Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas, from 1993 to 2004, where he also served as director of institutional research, did a stint as acting vice president for enrollment services, and for two years oversaw the college's admissions communications program.
Dr. Kimball received his M.A. and PhD in modern British history from Stanford University in 1990 and his A.B. in history from Harvard College in 1981. He has taught at Lyon College and in Stanford's Cultures, Ideas, and Values program for freshmen.
Preferred Contact Information
Email: ckimball@colum.edu
Phone: (312) 369-7099
Address:
Columbia College Chicago
600 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60605
Lambrini M. Lukidis
Associate Vice President of Strategic Communications and External Relations
Lambrini Lukidis joined Columbia College Chicago in September 2018 and currently serves as Associate Vice President of Strategic Communications and External Relations, where she is charged with overseeing the department and boosting Columbia's external visibility and reputation.
Lambrini has nearly twenty years of professional experience in a variety of communications roles. After working as a reporter in various TV markets across the country, she handled media relations for some of the Chicago Transit Authority's most high-profile projects. Immediately before joining Columbia, she successfully managed efforts in marketing, advertising, media relations, crisis response and external relations for the Forest Preserves of Cook County.
Lambrini attended Marquette University where she studied Broadcast and Electronic Communications and Spanish.
Preferred Contact Information
Email: llukidis@colum.edu
Phone: (312) 369-8695
Address:
Columbia College Chicago
600 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60605
Laurent Pernot
Chief of Staff
Laurent Pernot joined Columbia as Chief of Staff to the President in 2017. Prior to that, Pernot served as executive vice chancellor and senior advisor of City Colleges of Chicago, a seven-campus system with more than 90,000 students, 3,500 staff members, and a $524 million operating budget. He oversaw the rebranding of City Colleges and helped coordinate system-wide efforts in support of its Reinvention Initiative, which resulted in record-level student graduation and completion rates within the last six years. Pernot also helped to coordinate the design concept, project structure, and bond issues for construction of the new $251 million Malcolm X College, which opened in January 2016. Additionally, he was instrumental in launching the College to Careers and Chicago Star scholarship initiatives, and successfully negotiated labor contracts, including with full-time faculty.
Pernot has two decades of experience advancing and implementing institutional agendas and change, having worked in the University of Illinois at Chicago's Office of Public Affairs and for prominent regional and national public affairs consultancies. He also led advocacy, marketing, government, and community relations for Fortune 500 companies and non-profits. As principal at Platform Public Affairs, Pernot served as communications counsel to the Chicago Children's Museum, and public relations counsel and spokesperson for the Toyota Park soccer and concert venue. As vice president of public affairs at Hill+Knowlton Strategies, he led communications for the Alliance to Protect the Illinois Constitution, a successful Illinois referendum effort to keep key state constitutional protections intact. Additionally, he was part of the team that helped launch the education advocacy organization Advance Illinois. Pernot previously served as vice president of Jasculca Terman Strategic Communications, overseeing legislative and public awareness campaigns for industry associations and the City of Chicago, and handling issues involving education, healthcare and regulation for companies such as AT&T, CNA, Mesirow Financial, and Nicor.
Pernot is the author of the peer-reviewed book Before the Ivy: The Cubs' Glory Years in Pre-Wrigley Chicago and the short story "Fernand: A French Family in War." Pernot earned an MA and BA in political science from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Preferred Contact Information
Email: lpernot@colum.edu
Phone: (312) 369-7606
Address:
Columbia College Chicago
600 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60605
Miriam A. Smith
Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations
Miriam A. Smith joined Columbia College Chicago as Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations in September 2022. Her role will be to lead the activation of programs and initiatives which increase philanthropic support for the institution. Prior to joining Columbia, she was the Director of Corporate Relations for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
Smith called Columbia College Chicago home from 2015-2019 serving as Executive Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving and as Interim Chief Development Officer. During her tenure, she successfully managed the college’s engagement efforts with alumni, students, parents, and donors, working to strengthen affinity to the college and increase support through the annual fund and other giving programs.
Smith brings extensive development and alumni relations experience to Columbia College Chicago. She has led such efforts in higher education (Sarah Lawrence College, Manhattanville College, Fashion Institute of Technology), and health care (Grady Health Foundation – Atlanta, Georgia). She also has extensive business experience from her role as Associate Manager, Midwest Booking Agent with Columbia Artists Management in New York, New York.
Smith holds a Master of Music in Opera degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton in Binghamton, New York and a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York.
Preferred Contact Information
Email: msmith@colum.edu
Phone: (312) 369-7050
Address:
Columbia College Chicago
600 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60605
Jerry Tarrer
Senior Vice President of Business Affairs/CFO
Jerry Tarrer is the senior vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer for Columbia College Chicago, an office he assumed in January 2017. In this capacity, he oversees the office of budget, planning, and analysis and the controller's, facility services, human resources, information technology, institutional effectiveness, and internal auditor's offices.
Prior to joining Columbia, Mr. Tarrer served as associate vice chancellor for business and financial services and chief financial officer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. There he helped develop a strategy to address the University's structural deficit, led the development of a new resource allocation model for the University, developed and implemented a six-year financial forecasting tool, helped develop UWM's first strategic enrollment plan, revamped the campus' procurement function and initiated the implementation of an administrative shared services plan.
At Columbia College Chicago, Mr. Tarrer played an instrumental role in developing the College's enrollment strategy that led to the first overall enrollment increase in over 10 years. He also led the development of the College's first 5-year financial forecasting and planning tool and has overseen the College's divestment from 3 major real estate assets. Currently he is leading numerous administrative improvement initiatives, the development of short- and long-term strategies to strengthen the College's balance sheet and overall fiscal position. In addition, Mr. Tarrer is leading the College's efforts to develop a facilities master plan.
A Chicago native, Mr. Tarrer received an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Preferred Contact Information
Email: jtarrer@colum.edu
Phone: (312) 369-7215
Address:
Columbia College Chicago
600 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60605
Sharon Wilson-Taylor, PhD
Vice President of Student Affairs
Dr. Sharon Wilson-Taylor serves as Vice President of Student Affairs at Columbia College Chicago. She has held several positions at Columbia, working to develop programs and activities that improve student retention and engagement beyond the classroom. She has worked closely with students, faculty, and the Student Affairs staff to implement programs that will enhance the College's academic goals and students' college experience.
Dr. Wilson-Taylor earned a B.S. in Psychology at Illinois State University, an M.A. in Education with a concentration in Counseling from Roosevelt University, and a PhD in Higher Education, with a concentration in Student Affairs Administration from Loyola University Chicago.
Her areas of professional interests include: developing student policy and procedures, keeping abreast of current laws and regulations that impact Higher Education, resolving complex student issues, and co-curricular program development. In all her endeavors, she takes great pride in empowering those around her to deepen their learning.
Currently Dr. Wilson-Taylor is responsible for providing oversight of staff and budget resources for the following Student Affairs offices: Dean of Students, Residence Life, Student Communications, Student Leadership and Government, Student Events and Activities, Student Diversity and Inclusion, Exhibitions and Performance Spaces, New Student Programs, Student Employment, Career Center, Counseling Services, Student Health Center, Student Relations, Services for Students with Disabilities, and the Student Center.
Preferred Contact Information
Email: swilson-taylor@colum.edu
Phone: (312) 369-7222
Address:
Columbia College Chicago
623 S. Wabash Ave. Rm. 301
Chicago, IL 60605-1900