Timeline

2000

• Moraine Valley is selected as one of only 12 Vanguard Learning Colleges in the country—the only one in Illinois—for its outstanding record of achievement in learning-centered education.

• A traveling Smithsonian Institute exhibition focusing on a unique culture created by escaped slaves brought to Caribbean countries from Africa makes Moraine Valley its only stop in Illinois.

• Student Government Association members travel to Springfield to discuss issues affecting today's community college students.

• The Automotive Technology Department is designated as an official DaimlerChrysler CAP (Chrysler Apprenticeship Program) training center for the Chicagoland area. The college hosts the Daimler/Chrysler regional finals for the 'Build Your Dream Car" competition. Moraine Valley is the only community college selected to host the regional finals of the country's national competition.

• United States Vice President Dick Cheney visits campus while on the campaign trail.

• Diligent attention by the Y2K task force to the college's computer systems, fax machines and even elevators keeps the 'bug" at bay and the college operating smoothly into the new millennium.

• International student enrollment peaks to a new high with the registration of more than 240 students from 45 countries.

2001

• The Nature Study Area celebrates its 25th anniversary as an outdoor classroom and unique natural resource. It is one of the only places in Cook County where you can see the three beach levels of Old Lake Chicago, now Lake Michigan.

• The Academic Skills Center is renamed in honor of Dr. Irene Brodie, former dean of Developmental Education, for her generous monetary gift to enhance programs and services for underprepared students.

• An increase in demand for online courses prompts the college to boost online class offerings to 32.

• The 10th annual Holidays Around the World celebration brings more than 700 school children to campus with handmade ornaments from different countries to decorate campus evergreens.

• Marking a tradition of service to the community, the college hosts its 20th General Educational Development graduation.

• Area high school students experience a college-level class through Moraine Valley's new Jump Start Program that offers one free college class to qualified high school students.

• The college's newest academic facility, Building D, opens. The facility includes a CyberCafe, university-like Bookstore, and modern classrooms.

2002

• The Bob and Marge Bobb Student Life Center opens in the College Center, serving as the hub for student clubs and a space to relax with friends.

• A new 1.45-mile walking path is installed around the campus perimeter drive.

• The college introduces a new Web site address—www.morainevalley.edu.

• The college's national honor society, Phi Theta Kappa, receives the highest possible five-star status for achievement for the fourth consecutive year.

2003

• The Moraine Valley Chorale performs at the legendary Carnegie Hall in New York along with 21 other choruses representing community colleges from the United States and Canada.

• The college's Cisco Academy and Local Area Network Program are announced as one of only four faculty training centers in the world to provide faculty training for the new Fundamentals of Wireless LANs.

• As one of only 12 community colleges in the nation selected as a Vanguard Learning College, the initiative earns a Public Broadcasting System Award in Advanced Teaching and Learning.

• A new mentoring program for women in technology boosts female enrollment in technology fields with the use of mentors who help create a supportive environment.

• A new partnership between the college and Walt Disney World sends 36 students to Orlando, Fla., as spring-semester interns.

• Fall semester sees a record-high enrollment of 14,380 students, while spring enrollment again sets the record with 14,750 students.

2004

• Moraine Valley becomes the second largest community college in Illinois.

• Award-winning journalist Bill Kurtis (also a community college graduate) holds a probing discussion on campus on the death penalty, an issue raised in his book, The Death Penalty on Trial: Crisis in American Justice."

• The National Science Foundation awards Moraine Valley a $3 million grant to establish on campus the first Midwest Regional Center for Systems Security and Information Assurance.

• A telescope built and donated by Tom McCague, retired department chair and associate professor of Biology, is installed on the G. Jack Bradley Observation Deck in the college's Nature Study Area.

• The Moraine Valley Education Center at Blue Island opens its doors, making it the first full-service off-campus extension site.

• Noteworthy speakers on campus include Harry Mark Petrakis, novelist, who shares his tales of Greek life in America; FOX-TV anchor Robin Robinson, a keynote speaker during Black History Month; Fulbright Scholar Dr. Adnan Mehdi Ibrahim El Amine from Lebanon; and Ray Hanania, an Arab-American journalist.

• A traveling display of Mary Shelley's legendary creature, Frankenstein, visits the college as part of a national tour.

2005

• U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, joined by Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr., speaks during the college's Black History Month celebration.

• A record 1,568 degrees and certificates are awarded to the class of 2005, the highest number of graduates in Moraine Valley's history.

• Major renovations transform the 35-year-old library into a magnificent resource for contemporary learning.

• Men's soccer team is the first college from the United States invited to participate in an international tournament in Rotterdam, Holland. It also is the first Moraine Valley team to compete abroad.

• Marking the 50th anniversary of the Fulbright Program, Harriet Fulbright, wife of the late Sen. William J. Fulbright, program founder, speaks at the college on the importance of international education exchanges.

2006

• District residents give their vote of confidence by approving an $89 million bond referendum to fund technology upgrades, a science building, an instructional and job training center, enhanced facilities dedicated to student programs and services, and a new education center in the southwest sector of the district.

• Along with the addition of a new front entrance to the college comes a new address: 9000 W. College Pkwy.

• The women's volleyball team, the only team from the United States invited to participate in an international tournament in Dublin, Ireland, earns a silver medal.

• Enrollment swells to more than 17,000 students per semester, putting the college in the ranks of the fastest growing community colleges in the nation.

• Moraine Valley and Saint Xavier University sign a dual admission agreement that will provide a smooth transfer for students wishing to pursue a bachelor's degree in nursing at Saint Xavier after completing their associate's degree at Moraine Valley.

• The college's Forensics team earns a gold medal at the National Community College Speech and Debate tournament.

• The Glacier wins second place in the two-year college category of the national 2006 Newspaper of the Year award by the Collegiate Press, plus obtains a second-place finish in the Illinois Community College Journalism Association awards.

2007

• A groundbreaking ceremony in November commemorates the start of an $89 million campus expansion project that includes the Student Services Center (College Center) Renovation and Addition, and construction of the Moraine Business and Conference Center (Instructional and Job Training Center) and the Vernon O. Crawley Science Hall.

• Moraine Valley faculty Richard Wolf and Andrew Zbeeb's successful presentation at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Oxford, England, prompts an invitation for Moraine Valley students to study at the Centre. Moraine Valley is the first community college in the world to be invited to participate in this prestigious program.

• Moraine Valley celebrates 'A Proud Past. A Brighter Future" our 40th anniversary.

• The college's Global Education and Humanities departments host a presentation by Aaron Elster, a child survivor of the Holocaust.

• Building 100, the last of the temporary buildings, is razed.

• Two Moraine Valley students are the first community college students from the United States to participate in the prestigious Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies summer program in Oxford, England.
• The college hosts a seminar to help businesses learn to “go green” and offers a multitude of one-day classes to teach home and business owners how to become more environmentally friendly.
• Construction continues as scheduled on the Dr. Vernon O. Crawley Science Hall, the Moraine Business and Conference Center, and the Student Services Center and Student Union renovation and addition.
• The college in February 2008 hosts Drepung Loseling monks from Tibet, who perform instrumental music and chants, and create a traditional mandala sand painting on campus.
• A Moraine Valley student is the first apprentice from outside England to participate in a summer training program tending to the Alnwick Garden, located on the property of the Duchess of Northumberland in England.
• Spring enrollment of 18,065 students surpasses several of Moraine Valley’s all-time records: enrollment for any semester; credit students, and credit hours in a spring semester. Summer school enrollment also rises to a record high of 11,665 students, exceeding the 11,000-student mark for the sixth consecutive year.
• Biology and environmental science faculty members work to restore the college’s Nature Study Area prairie by eliminating non-native plants through a planned burn in April 2008.
• The groundbreaking ceremony for the Southwest Education Center, held Nov. 11, leads the way for the college’s first “green” building. The center, to be built at 179th Street and 94th Avenue, will introduce energy efficient and environmentally conscious design.

2009

• Site work begins for the Southwest Education Center to be constructed in Tinley Park. The building, which is certified LEED, will use geothermal wells to connect thermal pipes with the Earth below the frost line to send warm air into the building.
• The college in July hosts Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois Green Governments Coordinating Council’s 2009 Sustainable University Symposium.
• Library receives the Excellence in Academic Libraries national award for its creativity and innovation in meeting the needs of students and all library-users, and for creating programs that support distance and lifelong learning.
• The college’s Forensics team takes 2nd place in a national tournament and earned four individual medals in competition with more than 500 participants from 79 teams.
• Major construction projects come to fruition with building dedications in October. The Student Union opens in March, and the Dr. Vernon O. Crawley Science Hall and Moraine Business and Conference Center open in August. A portion of the renovated offices in the Student Services Center opens in October.
• Growth at the college continues, with enrollment for fall 2009 semester that sets a record high with 19,071 students.
• Men’s soccer and women’s volleyball teams travel to Milan, Italy, to participate in the 2009 World Interuniversity Games.
• Dr. Vernon O. Crawley, college president, is selected national Marie Y. Martin Chief Executive Officer of the Year by the Association of Community College Trustees. Dr. Crawley also was a recipient of the regional award presented by the ACCT.

2010

• The Southwest Education Center in Tinley Park opens in October as the college’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building, featuring geothermal wells, daylighting, water-saving fixtures, lighting controls, recycled materials, and much more.
• The college plants a community garden in conjunction with Urban Farming and Kraft Food’s Triscuit brand that bears lettuce, peppers, cucumbers and other vegetables.
• Renovations to the Student Services Center, formerly the College Center, is completed putting many services under one roof. 
• A team of Moraine Valley students takes first place in the Collegiate Cyber Defense competition, beating out colleges and universities from California, Washington and the Midwest.
• Moraine Valley hosts the daughter of the last remaining World War II veteran who was accompanied by a photographer and a traveling photo exhibit depicting the faces of the war.
• Moraine Valley is designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Two-Year Education by the National Security Agency, one of only six two-year colleges in the country to receive this honor.