News and Events

Jackie Slaats to take on new role at the College

Jackie Slaats outdoor portrait
August 27, 2024
Mike Wajerski

Lake Forest College President Dr. Jill Baren recently announced that Vice President for Career Advancement and Athletics Jackie Slaats will be taking on a new and exciting role as Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Career Advancement.

In this new role, Slaats will leverage her extensive network of connections and relationships with alumni, employers, and community partners to realize goals set forth in the College’s Our Forester Future framework. She will provide campus leadership for several key strategic framework initiatives and work alongside President Baren and other members of the senior leadership team on top priorities for the College.

“I am deeply grateful to Jackie for her nearly 40 years of dedicated service to Forester Athletics and the College community,” President Baren said. “As a valued member of my senior leadership team since I arrived at the College, I look forward to working even more closely with Jackie and to seeing her leadership flourish in this new and important realm of responsibility.”

Since 2019, Slaats has provided oversight for both Forester Athletics and Career Advancement at the vice president level with each thriving under her leadership. Forester Athletics excelled with numerous championships, NCAA postseason appearances, facility renovations and enhancements, and the hiring of Nicki Pieart as Director of Athletics. During the same time span, the Gorter Family name was added to the Career Advancement Center, Director Colleen Monks was elevated to Assistant Vice President, and the College has been ranked by The Princeton Review as one of the top 25 Best Schools for Internships in each of the last five years.

“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to contribute to Lake Forest College in a new and innovative way,” Slaats said. “This move is certainly bittersweet, however, as Forester Athletics has been a passion of mine since I arrived at the College and athletics overall has played such a significant role in my life and career. Fortunately, the timing of this move is also good as the department’s leadership is very strong with Nicki as Director of Athletics. I am incredibly proud of her, our head coaches and athletics staff, and our Tradition of Excellence and am confident the success of the department will continue under her direction. Equally, I am very proud of Lake Forest College and look forward to working with President Baren and the senior leadership team to deliver a transformational experience for our students and make a positive impact on our campus community in new and meaningful ways.”

Since arriving at the College in 1986 as Head Women’s Basketball and Volleyball Coach, Slaats has filled various roles. She continued coaching volleyball until becoming the Director of Athletics in 1992 and led the basketball team until adding Senior Advisor to the President to her title in 2008.  She took on leadership of the Career Advancement Center in 2017 and officially began as Vice President for Career Advancement and Athletics in 2019.

One of the first things Slaats did as Director of Athletics in 1992 was to hang a sign in the Sports Center that reads, “Lake Forest College: A Tradition of Excellence.” The department continues to live by that motto—focusing on classroom, competition, community, and career excellence—and has experienced significant success in the last 32 years. To read more about Slaats’ career accomplishments and the success of Forester Athletics during her tenure,  click here.