Stephen Damian Nacco

Stephen Damian Nacco has been the president of Danville Area Community College (Danville, IL) since 2016. He began his academic career as a full-time English and writing instructor at St. John’s University’s Staten Island Campus from 1979-1986. While writing his dissertation in American Literature at Fordham University, he was hired by the New York City Transit Authority in 1988. His initial job was to teach subway conductors how to make public-address announcements on trains. Subsequently, he worked in public relations, marketing, and customer relations. After 13 years at the Transit Authority, he crossed the Hudson River into New Jersey, and in 2001 became the executive director of college relations for Lincroft-based Brookdale Community College. In 2010, after completing a second doctorate (in educational leadership from Rowan University), he joined Union County College as the vice president of administration. Six years later, he and his Chicago-born wife abruptly abandoned their (adult-age) children in New Jersey and moved to Illinois to join DACC. As for his recent scholarship: in 2022, he contributed a chapter titled, “Eight Flashpoints for Presidents and Trustees: Encouraging Honest Engagement” in The Evolving College Presidency: Emerging Trends, Issues, and Challenges, which was published by IGI Global in 2022. He is the editor and a contributing writer for this book.

Publications

Narratives and Strategies of Effective Leadership in Community Colleges
Narratives and Strategies of Effective Leadership in Community Colleges
Stephen Damian Nacco. © 2024. 281 pages.
In American higher education, community colleges present new opportunities for many, embodying the democratic essence since their early roots. Originally conceived as junior...
Junior to Community to Comprehensive: Three Colleges in the Evolution of American Community Colleges
Junior to Community to Comprehensive: Three Colleges in the Evolution of American Community Colleges
Stephen Damian Nacco. © 2024. 22 pages.
This chapter examines the three-stage development of today's community colleges through the lens of three community colleges that were founded during each stage of the...
Eight Flashpoints for Presidents and Trustees: Encouraging Honest Engagement
Eight Flashpoints for Presidents and Trustees: Encouraging Honest Engagement
Stephen Damian Nacco. © 2022. 23 pages.
This chapter proposes to build a more open and productive working relationship between higher-education board members and the institution's president. The methodology...