College History || Timeline

College History

Timeline

1990

Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page addresses the college's graduates.
The Alumni Association is established.
Ten members of the Polish Delegation of Business and Labor visit the college's Ridgeland Center to tour the Electrical Construction Program.

1991

Dr. Vernon O. Crawley is named the college's fourth president.
Construction gets underway on the Fine and Performing Arts Center.
Moraine Valley is officially named one of 12 satellite offices of the Illinois World Trade Center.

1992

Moraine Valley celebrates "Lifelong Learning" with a 25th anniversary observance and the burial of a time capsule.
Jamie Farr, popular cast member on the hit TV series M*A*S*H, is a featured guest speaker.
Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar visits the campus, announcing the release of more than $1.6 million in state funds for a campus remodeling project.
The college dedicates its new G. Jack Bradley Observation Deck in the Nature Study Area.
Students, faculty and staff vote to adopt Moraine Valley's first college flag.

1993

The college establishes a Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution, working with community leaders.
Moraine Valley's AutoCAD Authorized Training Center is the only such center in the United States to win five Autodesk Awards for training excellence.
A student ambassador program begins with students representing Moraine Valley at recruitment activities and college events.

1994

The Fine and Performing Arts Center opens its doors. Home to the Dorothy Menker Theater, John and Angeline Oremus Theater, and the Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery, it is a cultural jewel for the southwest suburbs. The community approved a $15 million referendum to finance the project.
The Moving Wall, a traveling monument honoring Vietnam veterans, attracts thousands of community residents during its visit to campus.
An automated system goes into service, allowing students to register for classes, make tuition payments by credit card, change their schedule, and check course availability by touch-tone telephone.
During the spring, temporary buildings that housed offices and classrooms are finally razed.
The college combines support services for minority and international students with the creation of the Center for Cultural Diversity.
An armillary sundial handcrafted by retired mathematics Professor Roger Carlsen, is installed on the observation deck in the Nature Study Area.

1995

Almost 400 faculty and staff begin using an electronic mail system.
The Illinois Community College Board recognizes Moraine Valley for offering a training and development assessment program to address the needs of the workplace.
The college enters into a partnership with Christ Hospital and Medical Center for the training of students in careers as patient care associates and with Little Company of Mary Hospital for the training of students as certified nurse assistants.

1996

The college launches its Web site.
Faculty members begin using the Internet in their fall semester courses. Internet access also becomes available in the library and the Center for Contemporary Technology.
Moraine Valley excels in its first full year as a member of the Skyway Athletic Conference, winning conference championships in women's softball, men's soccer and men's basketball.
The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy selects the college's Family Reading program as one of only 14 recipients of national grants.
Thanks to the opening of Moraine Valley's Center for Advanced Studies, four-year colleges and universities offer students and community members the opportunity to complete their bachelor's or master's degrees on the Moraine Valley campus.

1997

Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African-American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for poetry and an Illinois Poet Laureate, visits the Fine and Performing Arts Center, where she recites some of her award-winning work.
To ensure a smooth transfer to senior institutions, Moraine Valley completes program revisions to meet requirements of the Illinois Articulation Initiative.
The Chicago Sun-Times hosts a forum on campus giving students an opportunity to discuss family, economics, technology, and politics.
More than 1,000 students, staff and community members take part in AIDS Awareness Week activities.

1998

United Parcel Service commissions the college's art students to create a mural to celebrate the company's role in transporting Keiko, the orca whale made famous in the movie Free Willy, from its home in Oregon to its native waters near Iceland. The 50-foot mural was hung at UPS in Hodgkins.
Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar visits the college to show support for state funding of a new building on campus to house 27 multipurpose classrooms, a bookstore, meeting rooms and offices (Building D).
College unveils the new school mascot, the Cyclones, replacing the Marauders.
Students for the first time can register for classes, print a schedule and view final grades online.
"Virtual college" is introduced, providing students with 10 courses taught via the Internet.
A new off-campus education center at Dwight D. Eisenhower High School in Blue Island opens its doors to students.
Singer Michael Bolton's "Bombers" and a team comprised of local sports celebrities match skills in the Heart to Heart Celebrity softball game played at the college to benefit Hope Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn.

1999

Creation of an intranet site allows faculty and staff members online access to internal information about the college.
Moraine Valley begins its partnership with United Parcel Service in the Earn and Learn Program.
The college establishes a Biology Resource Center in the library to provide multimedia support to students.
Moraine Valley is selected as the new location of the Department of Corrections Training Academy, which provides training to Cook County local corrections officers.
The Chicago Cows on Parade citywide art exhibit in 1999 includes a cow titled "Children on Parade" designed by Associate Art Professor Judith Raphael.