Skip to main content
Associate Dean of Nursing and Allied Health Dr. Theresa Marcotte is retiring after 22 years with the Illinois Eastern Community Colleges District.
During her career, Marcotte has worked in a variety of positions at all four colleges — Frontier, Lincoln Trail, Olney Central and Wabash Valley. She has been a nursing instructor, department head and administrator. She was Dean of Instruction at Wabash Valley College from 2007 to 2010 and has served the last five years in her current position at OCC.
Marcotte’s legacy includes integrating innovative technology into the classrooms to ensure a new generation of nurses and radiologists are ready to care for the needs of their patients. She attained grant funds to purchase IV pumps, interactive Apple TVs for the classrooms and new student software.
Marcotte also acquired grant monies to procure four new state-of-the-art simulators for the nursing programs at all four colleges and a new simulator for OCC’s Radiography Program. The simulators provide students with more real-world experiences.
“I’ve enjoyed the people and the students most,” Marcotte said of her time at IECC. “I am especially proud of the innovations we’ve made in improving the program for our students and the technology initiatives made in my current role.”
That includes putting iPads in the hands of every nursing student and all faculty.
While spearheading these efforts, Marcotte said changes were made as a team with strong input from faculty and staff throughout the process.
“A lot of big things have been accomplished and I’m proud of that right now,” she added. “I feel like I did what I was supposed to. I feel like I have done that and more while supporting the faculty and staff.”
Other milestones for Marcotte were implementing professional development for faculty and two continuing accreditations for the Nursing Program. The Radiography Program also underwent a successful accreditation visit in 2020.
“During COVID-19 and with a new director, the Radiography Program was in compliance with all standards and criteria met,” she added. “That is pretty remarkable.”
Each year, the program prepares 85 to 90 nurses to enter the workforce and 15 to 20 radiologic technologists. There are also many certified nurse aides that go into the workforce and also into the nursing program.
“Our students’ success is what makes the program great,” Marcotte said. “Our students give back. I have been able to hire nurse educators that were former students and accomplished their master’s degree. I will miss that.”
Marcotte earned an associate’s degree in nursing from WVC and completed a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. She received her master’s degree from the University of Southern Indiana and earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in 2018.
During her career, Marcotte worked in the Cardiovascular Unit at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville and in the OB/GYN Unit at Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes, Ind.
Marcotte’s future plans are to spend more time with her family, including twin grandchildren who are due this fall.
“I want to continue to work in the area of nursing and focus on my profession somehow, but I don’t have any definite plans now.”
