College of DuPage
Encyclopedia
College of DuPage, or COD, is a two-year community college
in Glen Ellyn, Illinois
. The college also owns and operates facilities in the Illinois communities of Addison
, Bloomingdale
, Carol Stream
, Naperville
, West Chicago
, and Westmont
. The college serves students residing in Illinois' Community College District 502, which is most of DuPage County
and parts of Cook County
and Will County
.
The college was established in 1967 in Glen Ellyn, with temporary facilities at 22nd Street (now Fawell Boulevard) and Lambert Road. That very same year the student newspaper, The Courier published its first issue and has been printing ever since. Due to the college's early students having to run from building to building for classes, the Chaparral was adopted as the college's mascot. The main campus is also home to WDCB
90.9 FM, a public radio station founded in 1977, as well as the literary magazine
Prairie Light Review, founded in 1982.
Currently the facility master plan calls for expanding the campus. Under it the Early Childhood Education Center, or ECEC building, was built, and the Health & Science (HSC) and Technology Education Centers (TEC) buildings opened during the summer of 2009. The college library is located in the SRC building. The college is currently involved in an extensive remodel of the BIC building as well as construction of a College Center located on the north side of the BIC building. This spring the college will break ground on a Culinary Arts and Hospitality Center as well as a Homeland Security Education Center.
It is also well known for a very comprehensive weather website used by many in both the severe storms fields as well as other disciplines of meteorology. The website was often seen being used by those on the Discovery Channel's Storm Chaser reality show. NEXLAB is short for "Next Generation Weather Lab", a take off on the Next Generation Weather Radar, or NEXRAD, used by the National Weather Service for its Doppler technology.
The COD Meteorology Dept. is also heavily involved in the community skywarn programs helping to host one of the larger spotter training seminars each March in DuPage County. The training is known as the Advanced Spotter Training for the Multi-County Skywarn of the Chicago Metro area. 12 counties participate through the Dupage Office of Emergency Mgmt, the Chicago National Weather Service, and the College of Dupage Meteorology dept (NEXLAB).
In October 2008, COD board chairman Michael McKinnon sued three former college trustees for defamation. The defamation suit was dismissed in mid-February, 2009. The three trustees had alleged that he had sexually harassed them. Mary Mack, one of the trustees, then counter-sued McKinnon for defamation.
In November 2008, according to Insidehighered.com, faculty members and students protested a board meeting by attending the meeting with tape over their mouths. This was to protest changes to the college rules modeled on conservative activist David Horowitz
's controversial "Academic Bill of Rights
", which takes control over the curriculum away from teachers and gives it to the school board. If adopted, as the Board of Trustees has proposed, this reform would make College of DuPage the first institution of higher learning in the nation to adopt Horowitz's "Academic Bill of Rights" 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. Another controversial change to the college rules was that control over the student newspaper will be given to the College president. This comes after the newspaper criticized the school board. The Student Press Law Center advised the newspaper that the changes may violate Illinois state law.
In February 2009, a board meeting in which trustee candidates contested objections to their candidacy drew over 100 people. The objections to the candidacies had been filed by Kory Atkinson, an outgoing trustee. The board barred audience members from commenting on the procedures. Candidates charged that the process was flawed and undemocratic.
s, 14,500 musical recordings, 690 audiobooks, 13,000 instructional videos, and an extensive rental video collection.
The Library has partnerships with various community-based and state and national library organizations. The Library's Philanthopy Center is a partnership with the Donors Forum of Chicago. The Library also has a residency
in community college librarianship program, designed to offer a two-year intensive, mentored experience in community college librarianship to a recent library school
graduate. The Library also provides resources and facilities for the College’s Library Technical Assistance (LTA) certificate program.
In January 2000 the Library received the Excellence in Academic Libraries Award, sponsored by the Association of College and Research Libraries
and Blackwells’ Book Services.
(NJCAA).
The first NJCAA Championship in any sport at College of DuPage was the 1980 NJCAA Men's National Ice Hockey Champions.
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
in Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Glen Ellyn is an affluent village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 Census, the village population was 26,999.-Geography:...
. The college also owns and operates facilities in the Illinois communities of Addison
Addison, Illinois
Addison is a village located west of the Chicago Metropolitan Area, in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 35,914 at the 2000 census. The estimated population was 36,378 as of 2002.The Village of Addison lies on Salt Creek...
, Bloomingdale
Bloomingdale, Illinois
Bloomingdale is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, approximately 25 miles west of Chicago. The population was 21,675 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, Carol Stream
Carol Stream, Illinois
Carol Stream is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. Incorporated on January 5, 1959, and named after the developer's daughter, Carol Stream had a population of 40,438 as of the 2000 U.S. census.- History :...
, Naperville
Naperville, Illinois
Naperville is a city in DuPage and Will Counties in Illinois in the United States, voted the second best place to live in the United States by Money Magazine in 2006. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 141,853. It is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago,...
, West Chicago
West Chicago, Illinois
West Chicago is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,469 at the 2000 census. It was formerly named Turner Junction after its founder, John B. Turner, president of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad in 1855...
, and Westmont
Westmont, Illinois
Westmont is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. Westmont is a community of six square miles in area, with a 2007 population of 26,211...
. The college serves students residing in Illinois' Community College District 502, which is most of DuPage County
DuPage County, Illinois
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 916,924, White Americans made up 77.9% of Dupage County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 70.5% of the population. Black Americans made up 4.6% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.3% of Dupage County's population...
and parts of Cook County
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
and Will County
Will County, Illinois
As of the census of 2000, there were 502,266 people, 167,542 households, and 131,017 families residing in the county. The population density was 600 people per square mile . There were 175,524 housing units at an average density of 210 per square mile...
.
The college was established in 1967 in Glen Ellyn, with temporary facilities at 22nd Street (now Fawell Boulevard) and Lambert Road. That very same year the student newspaper, The Courier published its first issue and has been printing ever since. Due to the college's early students having to run from building to building for classes, the Chaparral was adopted as the college's mascot. The main campus is also home to WDCB
WDCB
WDCB is a radio station broadcasting a public radio and jazz format. Licensed to Glen Ellyn, Illinois, USA, the station serves the Chicago area. The station is currently owned by College of DuPage, District 502 and features programing from AP Radio and Public Radio International...
90.9 FM, a public radio station founded in 1977, as well as the literary magazine
Literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
Prairie Light Review, founded in 1982.
Expansion
COD has expanded much over the years. Initially there were temporary buildings on the West side of the campus, and they are still up today. The first permanent buildings were constructed on this site in the 1970s. The first such building was A-building with the first two of its three floors opened for use in the fall of 1973. The A-Building was later named the Instructional Center, or IC building, and is now named the Rodney Berg Instructional Center, or BIC, after the College's first President. Others to follow were the Seaton Computer Center (named for a prominent COD Board trustee) or SCC, the Art Center (now the McAninch Arts Center, named for the College's second President) also called The MAC, the Student Resource Center, or SRC, and the Physical Education Building.Currently the facility master plan calls for expanding the campus. Under it the Early Childhood Education Center, or ECEC building, was built, and the Health & Science (HSC) and Technology Education Centers (TEC) buildings opened during the summer of 2009. The college library is located in the SRC building. The college is currently involved in an extensive remodel of the BIC building as well as construction of a College Center located on the north side of the BIC building. This spring the college will break ground on a Culinary Arts and Hospitality Center as well as a Homeland Security Education Center.
Future Expansion
Pending a referendum on the November 2010 Ballot, the college plans on keeping the current tax rate where it is, where in turn, the college plans on constructing finishing the three-phase project for the Homeland Security Education Center. The planned expansion includes a parking structure as well as a fully modeled streetscape for Police-Fire-EMS-SWAT training. A parking structure on the eastern side of campus is also planned, as the campus is currently over-capacity with its parking spaces, and the campus will be brought to current with its level of support for the students. Once the construction is finished, the BIC will have shed its long-held steel facing and gold-tinted windows to make it a white structure with modern upgrades, the SRC will have an overhaul and facelift, making it look new again, and a new Conference Center, as well as the long-awaited update to the Seaton Computing Center will finally be done.Semester conversion
For most of its history, the College of DuPage offered classes in an 11-week-long quarter format, with four quarters (Winter (January–March), Spring (April–June), Summer (June–August) and Fall (September–December)) in a single calendar year. In May 2002, the Board of Trustees voted to convert to semesters. The conversion was effective August 2005.College of DuPage Architecture
The Architecture Department at College of DuPage is highly regarded, as the students end up transferring to Illinois Institute of Technology, UIC, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Judson University, and other schools nationwide. The department boasts a rigorous and dedicated program core which consists of two years worth of Design classes which test and challenge the students to come up with amazing and creative designs. The Department also features classes on using AutoCAD and Revit, as well as classes teaching about Green Design and LEED Preparation. Students in the department are part of the Architecture Region of Chicago, which includes the COD Architecture Club, which does many trips, organizes group outings, refers to many lectures for the students, and makes available many opportunities for the students to further their understanding and practice of Green Architecture and Design. The department offers three degrees: Architecture Certification, Pre-Architecture(which is used for transfer to post-graduate degrees), and Construction Management.Meteorology and storm chasing
The COD Meteorology Department is one of the more unique programs in the country. It was the first college to offer storm chasing for college credit. Starting in 1989 as a weekend adventure before becoming a 50 day a year full scale college course today. The meteorology department offers classes such as Severe Weather Lab, Mesoscale Meteorology, and Severe and Unusual Weather to help train students to both chase and forecast severe weather events. Meteorology majors from COD have moved on to many universities and beyond to staff such places as the National Weather Service, TV stations, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, National Severe Storms Laboratory, to name a few.It is also well known for a very comprehensive weather website used by many in both the severe storms fields as well as other disciplines of meteorology. The website was often seen being used by those on the Discovery Channel's Storm Chaser reality show. NEXLAB is short for "Next Generation Weather Lab", a take off on the Next Generation Weather Radar, or NEXRAD, used by the National Weather Service for its Doppler technology.
The COD Meteorology Dept. is also heavily involved in the community skywarn programs helping to host one of the larger spotter training seminars each March in DuPage County. The training is known as the Advanced Spotter Training for the Multi-County Skywarn of the Chicago Metro area. 12 counties participate through the Dupage Office of Emergency Mgmt, the Chicago National Weather Service, and the College of Dupage Meteorology dept (NEXLAB).
Controversy
In May 2008, the school board abruptly removed the college president, Sunil Chand.In October 2008, COD board chairman Michael McKinnon sued three former college trustees for defamation. The defamation suit was dismissed in mid-February, 2009. The three trustees had alleged that he had sexually harassed them. Mary Mack, one of the trustees, then counter-sued McKinnon for defamation.
In November 2008, according to Insidehighered.com, faculty members and students protested a board meeting by attending the meeting with tape over their mouths. This was to protest changes to the college rules modeled on conservative activist David Horowitz
David Horowitz
David Joel Horowitz is an American conservative writer and policy advocate. Horowitz was raised by parents who were both members of the American Communist Party. Between 1956 and 1975, Horowitz was an outspoken adherent of the New Left before rejecting Marxism completely...
's controversial "Academic Bill of Rights
Academic Bill of Rights
The Academic Bill of Rights is a document created and distributed by Students for Academic Freedom, a public advocacy group spun off from the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, a think tank founded by former progressive, now conservative activist and writer David Horowitz...
", which takes control over the curriculum away from teachers and gives it to the school board. If adopted, as the Board of Trustees has proposed, this reform would make College of DuPage the first institution of higher learning in the nation to adopt Horowitz's "Academic Bill of Rights" 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. Another controversial change to the college rules was that control over the student newspaper will be given to the College president. This comes after the newspaper criticized the school board. The Student Press Law Center advised the newspaper that the changes may violate Illinois state law.
In February 2009, a board meeting in which trustee candidates contested objections to their candidacy drew over 100 people. The objections to the candidacies had been filed by Kory Atkinson, an outgoing trustee. The board barred audience members from commenting on the procedures. Candidates charged that the process was flawed and undemocratic.
Library
The College of DuPage Library is the library of the College of DuPage. The Library serves the college's 31,000 students and 1,600 faculty and staff. The library is based on the second and third floors of COD's Student Resource Center (SRC), located at the College's main campus in Glen Ellyn. The Library also provides services to the College's off-campus Regional Centers and Centers for Independent Learning. The library's collection includes over 200,000 individual titles, 900 periodical titles, over 100 databaseDatabase
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
s, 14,500 musical recordings, 690 audiobooks, 13,000 instructional videos, and an extensive rental video collection.
The Library has partnerships with various community-based and state and national library organizations. The Library's Philanthopy Center is a partnership with the Donors Forum of Chicago. The Library also has a residency
Residency
Residency is the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place.-United States of America:It is important in terms of politics, as candidates must maintain residency within the district in which they intend to run. Requirements vary by jurisdiction, and sometimes by the political...
in community college librarianship program, designed to offer a two-year intensive, mentored experience in community college librarianship to a recent library school
Education for librarianship
Education for librarianship is the term for the educational preparation for professional librarians. This varies widely in different countries. In the United States and Canada, it generally consists of a one- or two-year Masters degree program in library science...
graduate. The Library also provides resources and facilities for the College’s Library Technical Assistance (LTA) certificate program.
In January 2000 the Library received the Excellence in Academic Libraries Award, sponsored by the Association of College and Research Libraries
Association of College and Research Libraries
The Association of College and Research Libraries , a division of the American Library Association , is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals...
and Blackwells’ Book Services.
Athletics
In sports, the College of DuPage Chaparrals are a member of the National Junior College Athletic AssociationNational Junior College Athletic Association
The National Junior College Athletic Association , founded in 1938, is an association of community college and junior college athletic departments throughout the United States. It is held as Divisions and Regions. The current NJCAA holds 24 separate regions.-History:The idea for the NJCAA was...
(NJCAA).
- Men's Sports: baseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, basketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, cheer teamCheerleadingCheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
, cross countryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, golfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, soccer, swimmingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, tennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, track & field, and diving. - Women's Sports: basketball, cheer team, cross country, soccer, softballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, swimming, tennis, track & field, and volleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
The first NJCAA Championship in any sport at College of DuPage was the 1980 NJCAA Men's National Ice Hockey Champions.
National championships
- NJCAA Men's NationalNationA nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
Ice HockeyIce hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
Champions 1980, 1988 & 1990 - NJCAA Men's Division III Basketball ChampionshipNJCAA Men's Division III Basketball ChampionshipThe National Junior Collge Athletic Association Men's Division III Basketball Championships consists of eight teams playing over a three day period in March to determine a National Champion...
(Champion: 2002; Runner-up: 2001, 2003) - NJCAA Women's Division III Basketball Championship (Champion: 2000, 2002; Runner-up: 1998, 2004)
- NJCAA Men's Division III Tennis (Champion: 1997, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005)
- NJCAA Women's Division III Tennis (Champion: 2007, 2008, 2010)
- NJCAA Men's Division III Outdoor Track and Field (Champion: 2002, 2003, 2006, 2010)
- NJCAA Women's Division III Outdoor Track and Field (Champion: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004)
Notable faculty and Alumni
- James BelushiJames BelushiJames Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
, an American sitcom actor - John BelushiJohn BelushiJohn Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
, the late American film actor and comedian - Steven BestSteven BestSteven Best is an American animal rights activist, author, talk-show host, and associate professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at El Paso...
, an American animal rights activist, author, talk-show host, and associate professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at El Paso - Maureen Dunne, Rhodes Scholar; transferred to the University of Chicago.
- Werner KrieglsteinWerner KrieglsteinWerner Josef Krieglstein, Ph.D. , a Fulbright Scholar and University of Chicago fellow, is an award winning and internationally recognized scholar, director and actor. Krieglstein is the founder of a neo-Nietzschean philosophical school called Transcendental Perspectivism...
, COD professor, a University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
fellow and Fulbright ScholarFulbright ProgramThe Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
, he is an internationally recognized philosopher, author, and actor. - Marisol NicholsMarisol NicholsMarisol Nichols is an American actress best known for her role in the sixth season of 24 as Special Agent Nadia Yassir.-Early life:...
, an American Actress - Bob OdenkirkBob OdenkirkRobert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...
, an American comedy writer and actor - Tom PukstysTom PukstysThomas Paul "Tom" Pukstys is a former American track and field athlete who was a javelin thrower. Pukstys was a six-time U.S. javelin champion, and represented the United States at two consecutive Summer Olympics ....
, Olympian in the javelin - Paul SpicerPaul SpicerPaul Spicer is a former defensive end who spent the majority of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 1998...
, NFL football player - Dave Della TerzaDave Della TerzaDave Della Terza is an American Internet entrepreneur from Chicago, Illinois.He is most notable as the founder of Vote for the Worst, a web site that promotes voting for contestants on American Idol who he, among others, believe the producers would hate to see win.Della Terza has kept his media...
, Internet entrepreneur founder of Vote for the WorstVote for the WorstVoteForTheWorst.com is a website that is devoted to voting for the worst, most entertaining, most hated or quirkiest contestants on the Fox Network television series American Idol...
.