Mr. C. Christopher Hicks - Chairperson
Christopher Hicks is a banking and financial services professional with more than 15 years of risk management and retail sales experience in Fortune 500 financial institutions. He currently serves as a Compliance Officer at Fifth-Third Bank and was in similar roles as Vice President at MB Financial Bank, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America. Hicks began his career with eight years of service at LaSalle Bank in Chicago before its merger with Bank of America. The Homewood resident earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree in finance from Eastern Illinois University, concurrently achieving four-year letterman status in football during his time as an undergraduate student-athlete at EIU.
Ms. Julie Everett - Vice Chair
Biographical information coming soon!
Dr. Audrey Edwards - Secretary
Audrey Edwards has spent 37 years as an educator. After four years of public school teaching, she completed her doctorate and went on to teach English at Frostburg State University in Maryland for 11 years. There, she earned awards for innovative service to underprepared freshmen and students with disabilities. Joining EIU in 1989, Dr. Edwards became director of the Integrated Secondary Education Program, a unique cross-disciplinary teacher preparation plan. She served on several university-level committees, including the Council on Faculty Research, the Faculty Development Committee, and the Council on Teacher Education. Following retirement in 2010, Dr. Edwards has been an active member of the UPI Retirees Executive Board, serving as its president since 2015.
Ms. Barb Baurer - Member Pro Tem
Minier resident Barbara Baurer was appointed to EIU’s Board of Trustees in April 2017 by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner. She earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from EIU in 1975 before earning her master’s degree in business administration a year later.
She served as the Chief Operating Officer for COUNTRY Financial since 1999, retiring in 2015 after providing COUNTRY Financial 37 years of dedicated service. She was the organization’s first female and youngest-ever Vice President when she began reporting to the CEO at age 34 as the company’s Vice President of Management Information Services. In that role, she was responsible for all insurance and investment management operations, information technology services, and the always-open customer service call center.
During her career, Baurer served on Boards for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, the Institutes for Property/Casualty Insurance, the Griffith Insurance Education Foundation, the EIU Foundation, EIU’s College of Business Advisory, the United Way of McLean County, and Bromenn Regional Medical System. In addition to the EIU Board of Trustees, she also now serves on the board for FBAlliance Insurance Company.
Baurer also received numerous awards and recognition during her career, including the Illinois Diversity Council’s Most Powerful and Influential Woman award, the Griffith Insurance Distinguished Service and Lifetime Achievement awards, the McLean County YWCA Woman of Distinction award. She also is a member of the Illinois State University Business Hall of Fame. Her other EIU distinctions include the EIU Outstanding Graduate Alumni award, the Distinguished Alumna Award from EIU’s School of Business, the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumna Award, and an honorary doctorate degree from her alma mater for her commitment to public service.
Ms. Joyce Madigan
Since its inception in August 1995, Joyce Madigan has served as partner of Gilbert, Metzger & Madigan, LLP, a full-service CPA firm located in Charleston, Illinois. She founded the firm with the Charleston partners of Larsson, Woodyard & Henson, LLP, where she worked for 15 years prior. Madigan began as a staff accountant before becoming a manager and eventually a partner of the firm. She currently serves as Vice President of Coles Together, Coles County's economic development corporation. Madigan has previously served on the Eastern Illinois University Accounting Advisory Board and also on the School of Business Advisory Board. In addition, she has served as past chair and former board member of Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System. She is the recipient of EIU’s 2001 Distinguished Business Alumnus Award, the 2001 East Central Illinois Development Corporation’s Business Ethics and Social Involvement Award, and the 2002 Charleston Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award.
Dr. Bernie C. Ranchero, MD, MS, MBA
Dr. Ranchero is a passionate community healthcare activist and advocate for public higher education. He is committed to identifying and addressing healthcare and educational disparities and inequalities through innovation and the promotion of greater access to both for all. Dr. Ranchero currently serves as the local public health department’s medical director and medical advisor to numerous community organizations. His commitment to higher education is evidenced by his academic-faculty appointments/affiliations including Clinical Assistant Professor at Carle Illinois College of Medicine, Southern Illinois School of Medicine, Indiana State University, and Eastern Illinois University. Dr. Ranchero is a medical graduate of Xavier University School of Medicine. He has earned other graduate degrees from the University of Illinois, Master of Science in Molecular & Integrative Physiology, and an M.B.A with a concentration in Public Health Administration from Benedictine University. He is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and American Board of Obesity Medicine. Dr. Ranchero is also a Certified Medical Review Officer and Certified Laboratory Director.
Dr. Ranchero has served on several national advisory boards, consults, educates, and advocates for patients regarding cardiometabolic disorders, LGBTQ+ healthcare, preventative medicine, community and public health. He is an independent healthcare provider affiliated with HSHS Multispecialty Clinic - Mattoon, IL.
Dr. Timi Ngoboh
Dr. Timi Ngoboh has over 20 years of experience in Banking and Financial Services as an Information Technology professional. He currently serves as Director, Robotic Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Discover Financial Services, where he leads the Intelligent Automation department.
Prior to his time with Discover Financial Services, Dr. Ngoboh worked for Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase in various Information Technology or related roles.
Dr. Ngoboh received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from Eastern Illinois University, an M.B.A. in Computer Information Systems from Roosevelt University, and a Doctor of Business Administration in Information Technology from the University of Liverpool.
Ms. Ameenah Morris - Student Trustee
Ameenah Morris has been serving as EIU’s newest student trustee since July 1. She is hopeful that her time as trustee will benefit the University and the students it serves. Her vision is to offer student insight to other trustees to help in making decisions that are in the best interest of students. Morris graduated from University of Chicago Charter School—Woodlawn Campus and hails from the south/eastside of Chicago. She is proud of EIU for constantly making efforts towards accessibility and inclusion, and hopes her service as the student trustee allows her to gain more insight into EIU’s innerworkings and how decisions are made so she can bridge the gap between board members and the average student. In her spare time, Morris enjoys reading.
