This is the third in a five-part series honoring the NKyTribune’s NewsMakers 2020
By Judy Clabes
NKyTribune editor
When Joe Chillo was growing up in New York, he had great role models right at home in his extended family that included grandparents who came to this country as immigrants. They worked hard, loved the family, and drilled into young Joe and his brother that education was the way out and up.
President Chillo: Student focused
His grandfather was 16 when he started digging tunnels in the labyrinth beneath Grand Central Station. Joe remembers the evening at the dinner table when his grandfather was talking about the value of “an honest day’s work” when the boy’s “famous eye-roll” (which he has since perfected) didn’t go unnoticed.
At 3 a.m. the next morning, sleeping Joe got a tap on his shoulder. His grandfather was saying, “It’s time to go to work.” And they did — to tunnels six stories below Grand Central Station.
It was a lesson in the value of hard work Joe would never forget. When he took his own son, at age 6, to see iconic Grand Central Station, he recalls the look of sheer awe when his son said, “Your grandfather worked here?” Joe took him deep into the lower tunnels to see where the real “honest work” had been done.
Chillo embraced education with enthusiasm, working hard and becoming the first in his family to go to college. He earned his way through State University of New York at Binghamton with a B.A. in political science and history, Long Island University with a masters of public administration, credentials from Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and a doctor of law and policy from Northeastern University.
He met Laura, his wife to be, at Binghamton. They had a long courtship, a “great romance,” and a best friendship, married in 1997 and are the parents of Colin, 18, and Emma, 15, now students at Villa Madonna. Laura worked in insurance for nearly 30 years and “retired” when the family moved to Northern Kentucky in 2019. As the wife of a university president, Laura has a new and important role too and she embraces it with enthusiasm.
As unlikely as it seemed — to the New York/Boston family — Northern Kentucky was exactly where they wanted to be. How could they have guessed that they could put down such deep roots?
Joseph L. Chillo brings a wealth of dignity, confidence, values and common sense to his role. He is student – and mission – focused and doesn’t take his eye off the prize.
Chillo believes in ‘paying it forward.’
Student success is the prize.
He leads a team that understands that.
“Our dedicated faculty and staff know that students who come to Thomas More expect personal attention — and they get it,” he says. “We didn’t allow COVID to get in our way . . .We have been intentional in our decision-making and we pay attention to the little things.”
Students are under a lot of pressure, he says, and “we have to be supportive.”
Chillo reminds students that education is an opportunity — and it takes hard work not to waste an opportunity.
“I truly believe we have the responsibility to pay it forward.”
Chillo has created remarkable, positive change within the University during his tenure.
A few of his noteworthy accomplishments include:
• Launch of a new strategic plan, Lighting the Way, aimed at positioning Thomas More University as the premier Catholic university in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region.
• Launch of the comprehensive capital campaign entitled the Second Century Campaign – A Time for More in support of the strategic plan. This initiative has raised a staggering $15.7M in its inaugural year, more than any other fundraising effort in the University’s history (the previous record was $8M over four years in a campaign to endow the Thomas More Success Center); all despite the challenges of COVID-19.
• Securing record-breaking enrollment, including the largest group of returning students in University history.
• Thomas More has achieved a new level of financial stability through establishing a financial reserves policy, growing the endowment from $23M to $35M, and achieving a perfect Department of Education Composite Score of a 3.0. Thanks to these efforts, Thomas More University begins its Second Century in the strongest financial position possible.
• Growth of the University’s footprint and physical plant through acquiring DBL Law buildings (207 and 209 Thomas More Pkwy), announcing the construction of a new academic building, and establishing plans for the renovation and enhancement of athletic facilities and student spaces.
• Leading the effort to elevate Thomas More University athletics through the provisional acceptance into the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) and a forthcoming application to join NCAA Division II.
The Chillo family, mom Laura, Colin, Emma, and dad Joseph
“Within mere months of assuming the presidency of Thomas More University, Dr. Chillo faced the unique challenges of a pandemic, an unexpected disruption that did not stand in the way of his relentless commitment to mission-driven leadership,” says Board of Trustees Chair Judith A. Marlowe ’69, Ph.D.
“Rather than “hanging on” during his first two years at the helm, he has been laser focused on “moving on” with intentional, strategic planning and execution that have achieved ambitious goals and strengthened the impact of Thomas More as a result. Increased enrollment and retention are testimony to his dedication to student success not only on campus, but also throughout life after graduation.
“As Thomas More celebrates its centennial as the first college in Northern Kentucky, his vision is firmly fixed on making the Second Century even brighter by launching the most ambitious campaign in our history to fund initiatives that will secure our future.”
As for Chillo, he loves the traditions and legacy of the institution, its connection to the community, its values, and the stories that helped shape it.
He truly believes “It’s Time for More” and the work being done now will be written as a golden age in the history of Thomas More University.
