Dr. John Avendano
Baseball/Coach/Administrator (1980-1995)
President of Kankakee Community College since 2009
Administrator at WCC and Vice-President at Illinois Central College
Led Waubonsee to Skyway softball title in only season as Head Coach
Waubonsee Assistant Baseball Coach 9 years
Baseball All-Skyway First Team selection in 1981
The old sports adage that you “miss 100 percent of the shots you do not take” is absolutely correct. And former Waubonsee player, coach and administrator Dr. John Avendano is proof that you also never know where those shot attempts will lead you once you try.
Avendano graduated in 1980 from Aurora East High School, where he was a stand-out athlete. However, by his own admission, he was “undecided on education.” With the urging of his parents Juan and Ninfa, he seized the opportunity to continue his education and play baseball at Waubonsee. Avendano earned All-Skyway First Team honors as a freshman before a knee injury forced him to re-evaluate his priorities. “When I was injured is when I truly became a student,” he says. As a sophomore he was the Chiefs’ captain, set Waubonsee’s season and career marks for sacrifice bunts, and then transferred to Elmhurst College to continue his playing career.
Avendano came back to Waubonsee to complete his Associate’s degree and then moved on to Northern Illinois University (NIU) where he earned a B.S. in Exercise Physiology, and an M.S. in Adult Continuing Education. He started work toward his Ph.D. at Loyola University before finishing his doctorate at Illinois State University in Educational Administration and Foundations.
Avendano returned to Waubonsee as the Assistant Baseball Coach for nine seasons. During that time he managed Waubonsee’s Fitness Center, which he had helped create with former administrator and instructor Bill Prince. Avendano took over as Head Coach of the softball team for one season, leading the Lady Chiefs to a Skyway Conference title. He later was Waubonsee’s Recruitment Coordinator, Director of Enrollment Management, and eventually Associate Dean of Student Life. In 1995 he left Waubonsee to become Dean of Student Services at Illinois Central College (ICC). He eventually worked his way up to Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Development at ICC. In 2009 Avendano became the sixth president in the history of Kankakee Community College.
In 2006 Avendano was named one of Waubonsee’s “Fab 40” Alumni in conjunction with the college’s 40th anniversary. In addition, in 2011 he received Waubonsee’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. Avendano also serves on the Illinois Public Community College Council of Presidents, the Grundy-Livingston-Kankakee Workforce Board, the Riverside Healthcare Board of Directors and the Economic Alliance of Kankakee County. He and his wife Janet live in Bourbonnais with their three children, Michael, Nikki and Marissa.