College of DuPage


College of DuPage is a public community college with its main campus in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The college also owns and operates facilities in the Illinois communities of Addison, Carol Stream, Naperville and Westmont. With more than 28,000 students, the College of DuPage is the second largest provider of undergraduate education in Illinois. The college serves students residing in Illinois' Community College District 502.

History

College of DuPage was established after the Illinois General Assembly adopted the Public Community College Act of 1965 and the approval of DuPage high school district voters in a referendum. The college opened on September 25, 1967, under the leadership of the College's president, Rodney K. Berg, and Board of Trustees Chairman George L. Seaton. At the time, classes were held in office trailers and leased suburban sites throughout the newly established Community College District 502. Due to the college's students, faculty and staff having to drive from building to building for classes, the chaparral was adopted as the school's mascot. That year, The Courier, the school's student newspaper, published its first issue. In 1968, the Glen Ellyn campus location was acquired. A year later, three interim buildings were constructed west of Lambert Road in Glen Ellyn. The Berg Instructional Center, the college's first permanent building, opened in 1973. WDCB, a public radio station owned by the college, was founded in 1977. Harold D. McAninch was appointed as the college's second president in 1979. In 1982, the college began publishing the Prairie Light Review, a literary magazine. The Student Resource Center and Physical Education and Recreation Center opened in 1983.
The McAninch Arts Center was built in 1986. In 1990, the Seaton Computing Center was built and housed computer-specific classrooms for the Computer Information Systems, Computer and Internet working Technologies, and Office Technology Information programs. A year later, the college opened new campus locations in Naperville and Westmont, Illinois.
Michael T. Murphy became the college's third president in 1994. In 2002, voters approved a $183-million bond referendum that provided funds for renovating and rebuilding the Glen Ellyn campus and off-campus locations. Funds from the referendum were used to build the Homeland Security Education Center, the Student Services Center, and the Culinary & Hospitality Center. In 2003, Dr. Sunil Chand replaced Murphy as the college's president. That year the College expanded with the opening of the Bloomingdale Center for Independent Learning. The Carol Stream Community Education Center opened in 2004 and the West Chicago Community Education Center in 2005. In fall 2005, College of DuPage converted from a quarter system to a semester system.
In 2006, College of DuPage and the Indian Prairie District 204 created the Frontier Campus, a magnet school for District 204 seniors and an additional college regional center. The college's Early Childhood Center and new campus roadways and parking lots were completed in 2007. The following year, the College received a maximum seven-year re-accreditation through the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Institutions of Higher Education.
In May 2008, the school board abruptly removed the college president, Sunil Chand. Faculty members and students protested a November 2008 board meeting to implement conservative activist David Horowitz's "Academic Bill of Rights", which takes control over curriculum away from teachers and gives it to the school board. The faculty association sent a letter to the board noting that the changes were never discussed and no complaints over curriculum have been filed by students. In January 2009, Dr. Robert L. Breuder became the college's president. The Health and Science Center and Technical Education Center opened that summer on the Glen Ellyn campus. The Technical Education Center is 178000 square feet and houses the Automotive Technology, HVAC/ELMEC, Architecture, Horticulture, and Interior Design programs, and in a new steel, glass and precast concrete panel building on the west side of campus. The building was awarded LEED Silver certification and was designed to support horticulture, construction trades, architecture, interior design, construction management, and automotive technology.
The 475,000 square foot BIC Renovation, and and new 65,000 square foot Student Services Center included the reorganization of faculty and administrative departments, expanded student commons, updated classrooms and labs. The addition of the new Student Services Center which now connects the SRC and BIC with a large naturally lit commons, a new coffee shop and 'one-stop-shop' student services offices and operations. The renovation and Student Services Center replaced the deteriorating BIC exterior with a new, modern panel and glass exterior and bright interior spaces. The transfer of the classes to the BIC enabled the construction of the next phase of the Homeland Security Education Center expansion on the west side of campus.The Culinary and Hospitality Center was completed 2011. It houses culinary kitchens and bakeries, a six-room boutique hotel run by students of the hospitality program, two gourmet restaurants open to the public, a culinary amphitheater and the college's Multimedia Services department. Waterleaf, one of the college's two restaurants, seats 150 people.Phase one of the Homeland Security Education Center was completed in 2011. The center houses the college's Criminal Justice and Fire Science Technology programs, as well as the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy and the COD police department.
The College of DuPage had a special fund for administrators called an "imprest fund." Any purchase made from the fund that is under the $15,000 is not subject to disclosure to the public or review by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees reportedly failed to review the itemized receipts for $26 million of expenditures that college administrators have spent over 16 months. In October 2014, The Washington Times awarded COD its weekly “Golden Hammer Award,” given for waste, fraud, and abuse, in response to its management of this fund.
In 2014, COD President Robert Breuder sent an email to the college's trustees asking them to come up with a justification that would allow the State of Illinois’ to disburse a $20 million grant that the legislature previously had approved. In the email, Breuder proposed associating the released funds with a planned $50 million teaching and learning center. The appropriation incident and Breuder's email led to an editorial in the Chicago Tribune that called the episode, “…a seedy little money grab by officials at the College of DuPage.”
On January 22, 2015, the board of trustees voted to give COD President Robert Breuder $763,000, which was defined as a retirement package. The Chicago Tribune wrote that "some trustees now acknowledge that the buyout was negotiated to terminate Breuder's contract, which had been secretly extended to 2019." A spokesman from the office of Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner said the administration had been watching the entire vote process carefully and had notified the Illinois Community College Board, the state authority over community colleges. This retirement package was voted again during the January 28, 2015 meeting after the Edgar County Watchdogs and others won a Temporary Restraining Order directing the board to hold its meetings in a room large enough to accommodate those wishing to attend. This second January meeting saw more than 500 attendees, and at least 60 people spoke during public comment lasting several hours. In December 2015, the Higher Learning Commission placed COD on accreditation probation, due to concerns about "operating with integrity and governance of the College." That probation was lifted two years later.
In May 2016, Dr. Ann Rondeau was elected to become the sixth president of the College of DuPage.Dr. Brian W. Caputo is currently serving as the President of College of DuPage. He is the 7th president of the school. After being chosen to serve as an interim president starting on January 1st, 2019, he was voted as the full time president on June 20th, 2019. He earned his undergraduate degree at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He then went on to earn 3 graduate degrees, including a doctorate degree from Northern Illinois University. He served over 22 years in the United States Army and retired from service in 2004. Caputo is a board member of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. Before he was a board member, he was the Chief Financial Officer and the City Treasurer for the City of Aurora, Illinois.

Academics

College of DuPage offers transfer degree and technical education programs in various fields and disciplines. The college offers 9 different associate degrees with 79 different associate degree options and 161 Certifications. Academic Opportunities can be found in nine different areas including Adult Fast Track, Dual Credit programs for high school students, Field Studies & Outdoor Adventures, Global Education, Honors programs, Learning Communities, STEM, Study Abroad, and Workforce Development.
The college offers "3+1 degree" programs to earn a bachelor of science or bachelor of arts degree. The program requires students to take three years of classes at College of DuPage and a fourth year taught by a partner university on College of DuPage's campus. Partner universities include Benedictine University, Concordia University Chicago, Governors State University, Lewis University, National Louis University, and Roosevelt University. Continuing Educational opportunities are categorized in five groupings including Adult Enrichment, Business Solutions, Healthcare Education, Professional Development, and Youth Academy. College of DuPage offers an Engineering 2+2 Program partnered with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to earn a bachelor's degree in engineering. Created in 2014College of DuPage#cite note-41|, the program provides guaranteed transfer admission to their College of Engineering if specific qualifications are maintained throughout the two yearsCollege of DuPage#cite note-42|. This program requires students to follow a planned arrangement of correlating courses that will set them up for their third collegiate year at the University of Illinois. They must maintain standards of academic success determined by the university each year in order to provide proof of equivalence. Academic counselors specializing in this program are assigned to each student to guide them through the transfer process. The participating majors include: aerospace engineering, agricultural and biological engineering, civil engineering, environmental engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, engineering mechanics, engineering physics, general engineering, industrial engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, as well as nuclear, plasma and radiological engineeringCollege of DuPage#cite note-43|College of DuPage#cite note-44|.

Student life

The college offers over 80 academic and pre-professional clubs, culture and ethnic clubs, faith-based clubs, honors societies, literary and performing arts clubs, political clubs, and service oriented clubs. The Courier, a student newspaper, Courier TV News, a student run newscast, The Chaparral a summer-themed magazine, and the Prairie Light Review, a humanities magazine are three student publications the college publishes. The college houses WDCB, a public radio station.

Robotics

The college's robotics team works on designing, fabricating, assembling, and repairing their own robots for various competitions and activities throughout the year. The team participates multiple competitions each year including the Midwestern Robotics Design Competition hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignCollege of DuPage#cite note-45| and the NASA's Lunabotics Competition.College of DuPage#cite note-46| The team also participates in outreach activities with home-schooled children as well as Girl Scouts and middle schools. In these activities, the team designs engineering projects for the younger students to work through.College of DuPage#cite note-47|

Athletics

A chaparral has always been College of DuPage's mascot. After fifty years of kelly green and gold, the current school colors are jungle green with silvergrey and white. A chaparral bird is "a speedy largely terrestrial bird" often referred to as a Roadrunner bird. The mascot is currently nicknamed Chappy and can be seen through art sculptures around the campus grounds.
The men's Ice Hockey team won the college's first NJCAA championship in 1980.College of DuPage#cite note-njcaa-48| The college has a total of 31 NJCAA championship titles.
The men's track and field team has competed in both NJCAA Division III and Division I. In Division III, College of DuPage was national champion for outdoor track and field in 2002,2003,2006, and 2010.College of DuPage#cite note-49|Several athletes from COD's track and field program have started their careers at COD. Tom Pukstys began his career at COD before going on to compete in his first Olympic Games in 1992, coming in 10th place.College of DuPage#cite note-50| Troy Doris from Bolingbrook, Illinois, also started his career at COD. In 2016 Troy Doris appeared for Guyana in the triple jump, placing 7th.College of DuPage#cite note-51|
Football team in 2011 The men's football team has been in six NJCAA bowls games since 2000.College of DuPage#cite note-52| The school has won two of the six bowl games. The first bowl game won was called the Citizens Bank Bowl in 2012.College of DuPage#cite note-53| The second bowl game won was the Red Grange Bowl in 2016. This was the first bowl game hosted by College of DuPage.College of DuPage#cite note-54|
The men's football team has sent several athletes to four-year universities. Fahn Cooper played during the 2013 season and transferred to the University of Mississippi. In the 5th round of the NFL 2016 draft, Cooper was selected by the San Francisco 49ers.College of DuPage#cite note-55|
The Berg Instructional Center was opened in 1974. The structure spans four levels that houses many classrooms, workshops, labs, department offices as well as faculty offices, and conference areas. It was named after the College of DuPage's first president, Rodney K. Berg.
The Culinary and Hospitality Center was completed in 2011.College of DuPage#cite note-chicagotribune7-56| The center houses kitchens and bakeries, a six-room boutique Hotel run by students of the Hospitality program, two gourmet restaurants open to the public, a culinary amphitheater and the colleges TV station and video production departments.
The Early Childhood Center was completed in 2007.College of DuPage#cite note-cod3-4| The center serves more than 100 children and houses the Early Childhood Education and Care degree and certificate programs. This building is located across College rd. from the main campus. It has kindergarten, part-time preschool, a daycare and full-time preschool.College of DuPage#cite note-58| The Early Childhood Center was closed June 1, 2018 due to a decline in enrollment and increased operational costs. College of DuPage#cite note-59|
The Health and Science Center was funded by the proceeds of the 2002 capital referendum and opened in 2010.College of DuPage#cite note-cod3-4| The center houses the Basic Nursing Assistant, Dental Hygiene, Diagnostic Medical Imaging, Health Science, Nuclear Medicine, Nursing, Physical Therapist Assistant, Radiography, Respiratory Care, Surgical Technology, Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology, Biology, Chemistry, Zoology and Botany programs. The HSC also houses a Nursing Simulation and Long-Term care lab, Dental Hygiene lab and Surgical Technology operating room lab.College of DuPage#cite note-legat-60| The building received LEED Gold certification.
Phase one of the Robert J. Miller Homeland Security Education Center was funded by the proceeds of the 2002 capital referendum and completed in 2011. It houses the Criminal Justice program, the Fire Science/EMS program, the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy and the COD police department.The center has an Immersive Interior Training Lab, forensics and cybercrimes labs, an auditorium that doubles as a mock courtroom, a self-contained breathing apparatus lab, and a debriefing room.College of DuPage#cite note-61| The center also includes a Memorial to the September 11 attacks in its lobby with the centerpiece being a steel beam recovered from the towers.College of DuPage#cite note-62|
The McAninch Arts Center was built in 1986, and is named after the college's second president.College of DuPage#cite note-cod3-4|College of DuPage#cite note-arts-11| The renovation updated the major performance spaces, addressed significant infrastructure needs and improved several academic program areas. The MAC houses the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall, the 186-seat soft-thrust playhouse theater and the 70-seat black box studio theater.College of DuPage#cite note-dailyherald4-63| It also houses the Cleve Carney Museum of Art, classrooms for the college's academic programming and the 1,200 capacity outdoor Lakeside Pavilion. The facility has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since opening in 1986.
The Russell R. Kirt Prairie, ecological study area and B.J. Hoddinott Wildlife Sanctuary are three natural areas maintained by College of DuPage on the Glen Ellyn campus.
The Physical Education Center is where the athletic program is and it also holds classrooms for many other courses.College of DuPage#cite note-65| It also has a fitness area on the 2nd floor which students and staff of the school as well as community members can join.College of DuPage#cite note-66|College of DuPage#cite note-67|
The Seaton Computing Center was built in 1990 and houses computer-specific classrooms for the Computer Information Systems, Computer and Internetworking Technologies, and Office Technology Information programs.College of DuPage#cite note-dailyherald3-12|
The Student Resource Center holds the Library, Bookstore, Jack H. Turner Conference Center, Records, Learning Commons, Continuing Education/Extended Learning, Academic Computing Center and main cafeteria and the offices for the president.
The Student Services Center was completed in the fall of 2011, and is located in between the SRC and the BIC. Regarded as the "living room" of COD, the SSC holds the Admissions and Outreach, Campus Central, Counseling and Advising, Financial Aid, Academic Support, Registration, Records,Testing Center, Veterans Administrative Services, and the Cashier's Office. This building also holds the COD Board Room, Student Activities, the Veteran's lounge on the second floor, and Starbucks.College of DuPage#cite note-68|
The Technical Education Center was funded through proceeds from the 2002 capital referendum and was completed in 2010. It houses the college's Architecture, Interior Design, Horticulture, Automotive Technology, Computer-Aided Design, Construction Management, Electro-Mechanical Technology, Electronics-Integrated Engineering Technology, HVAC-R, Manufacturing Technology and Welding Technology programs. The building is LEED certified.

Other campuses

Besides the main campus in Glen Ellyn, the College of DuPage operates four regional campuses in Illinois located in Addison, Carol Stream, Naperville, and Westmont. College of DuPage#cite note-69| All of the campuses provide many of the same educational opportunities as the main campus including tutoring and testing.College of DuPage#cite note-70|
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