In 1951, St. Joseph's College of Rensselaer, Indiana, opened an extension in Lake County, Indiana. It was known as the Calumet Center. Most of its courses were taught in borrowed classrooms provided by Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond and St. John the Baptist Church in Whiting. In 1960, the Board of Control authorized the expansion of this two-year extension into a full four-year, degree-granting college. In doing so, the institution became the first college in the Calumet Region to offer baccalaureate degrees. At that time, St. Joseph's College Calumet Campus moved into a new home, a former furniture store in East Chicago. Classes and administrative work were conducted in this building, which served the college well for 15 years and later became the Administration Building. The East Chicago Campus continued to grow throughout the 1960s. Buildings were donated or acquired on Indianapolis Boulevard and Olcott Avenue to provide classroom and office space, a Library, laboratories, a theater, a communications center, and student recreational facilities. In the Summer of 1971, the College was renamed St. Joseph Calumet College. It officially separated from St. Joseph's College on November 15, 1973, when articles of incorporation were filed with the state of Indiana. On December 31, 1973, the American Oil Company deeded its research and development facilities and of land to Calumet College. The college moved into its new facilities in January 1976 and is now using the largest of the 23 buildings on the site.
Academics
Calumet College of St. Joseph awards master's, bachelor's and associate degrees in a variety of fields. The college offers two accelerated degree completion programs through its School of Adult Learning. It also permits students to earn up to 45 semester hours of credit at the bachelor's degree level through alternative credit options.
Athletics
Calumet College of St. Joseph's athletic teams are known as the Crimson Wave. They compete in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, an affiliate of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Calumet College of St. Joseph began offering athletic programs in 2001. CCSJ added men's wrestling in the 2009-2010 academic year and the current head coach is ADCC placer, UFC Veteran, and 2 time NCAA All American Joe Gilbert. CCSJ Men's bowling finished 2nd in the nation at USBC Collegiate Championships, in the 2009-2010 season. In 2016, the men's bowling teamed moved up and ranked 1st in the nation at the USBC Collegiate Championships! Men's sports
Ronald Tabaczynski, former Indiana State Representative, former Lake CountyCouncilman, and current government affairs director for BOMA/Chicago from Hammond, Indiana.
