HR1546 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1546 LRB099 23831 GRL 51351 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Waubonsee Community College on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its founding in 2016; and

WHEREAS, Waubonsee Community College, a two-year public institution of higher learning, came into existence in August of 1966, when the electorate of 12 school districts in most of Kane and portions of Kendall, DeKalb, LaSalle, and Will Counties voted to establish Community College District 516; and

WHEREAS, From the beginning, the philosophy of Waubonsee Community College has been that education is the cornerstone of a literate, democratic society, that learning is a lifelong process, and that the pursuit of knowledge must be supported by institutional policies demonstrating accessibility, service, quality, innovation, and value; and

WHEREAS, Waubonsee Community College truly began taking shape in early 1967, when its first president took office and subsequently began assembling a staff, developing a multi-level curriculum, and locating classroom space; in March of 1967, in order to give the college a suitable name, the school called upon its community through a district-wide naming contest; from among the 600 entries, Susan Miller of Aurora and Patricia Ann Dillon of Batavia suggested Waubonsee, a Pottawatomie Native American chief who lived in the Fox River Valley during the 1800s, so the Fox Valley Community College officially became Waubonsee Community College; and

WHEREAS, Waubonsee Community College had a permanent name but not a permanent campus; when the college opened its doors for classes on September 11, 1967, the doors were those of a variety of community facilities; the school had an initial enrollment of 1,603 students, 403 full-time and 1,200 part-time; in December of 1967, a successful bond referendum allowed the college to begin planning its first permanent campus; the campus, situated on a 243-acre tract of land north of Sugar Grove on Route 47, still serves as the main campus; a second Waubonsee campus opened in 1986 in downtown Aurora at the corner of Galena Boulevard and Stolp Avenue, which ceased operations in May of 2011; and

WHEREAS, In June of 2011, Waubonsee Community College moved its downtown campus to a new 132,000-square-foot facility at 18 South River Street, while the Aurora Downtown Campus remains the headquarters for Workforce Development, Adult Education, GED, English as a Second Language, and the Adult Literacy Project; Waubonsee established another major extension in January of 1997 on the Rush-Copley Medical Center campus, which was renovated and renamed the Aurora Fox Valley Campus in the summer of 2016; in the spring of 2011, courses began at a fourth permanent campus in Plano; classes are also held at nearly 16 other extension sites throughout the district; and

WHEREAS, In accordance with the Waubonsee Community College 2020 College Master Plan, five building projects were completed at the Sugar Grove Campus: the Campus Operations facility, which opened in August of 2005; the new Science Building, which opened during the Fall 2006 semester; the Academic and Professional Center, which held classes for the first time in the fall of 2007; the Student Center, which opened in the spring of 2009; and the Field House, which opened in the spring of 2015; and

WHEREAS, Waubonsee Community College has always been a leader in distance learning; the college was a founding member of the Illinois Virtual Campus and has provided courses to students statewide through Illinois Community Colleges Online; the college offers nearly 200 online courses and delivers fully-accredited associate degrees and certificates to students on an online platform; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Waubonsee Community College on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its founding in 2016 and wish the college continued success in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Waubonsee Community College as a symbol of our esteem and respect.