Lake Land College is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

Mattoon, Illinois Mattoon ( ) is a city in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 16,870 as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Lake Land College and has close ties with its neighbor, Charleston. Both are principal cities of the Charleston� ...

. It was founded in 1966. As of the Fall 2021 semester Lake Land serves 3,644 students, mainly from the east-central Illinois region. The campus has seven major buildings plus eight supportive buildings, two campus ponds, and a

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

land laboratory.

History

Lake Land's creation was first approved in 1966 by a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

in 13 public school districts centered on Mattoon. The first classes were held the following year in various buildings throughout the town. The first president of the college was Virgil H. Judge (who was the father of Darrell L. Judge). Construction on the college began in 1971 and continued in phases throughout the 1970s. Academic programs at Lake Land College include Agriculture; Allied Health; Business; Humanities; Math & Science; Technology and Social Science & Education. Other coursework programs include the Cisco Networking Academy, Computer Troubleshooting, Physical Therapist Assistant, Desktop Publishing Graphic Design, Radio-TV Broadcasting, Raster Geographic Information Systems, and Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Lake Land College also recently started an ROTC program. Over 150 courses are offered

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...

Athletics

Lake Land College sponsors teams in two men's and three women's NJCAA sanctioned sports: The Lakers have won one NJCAA National Championship which happened in 2021. The women's basketball team finished 24–2 and defeated Johnson County Community College 53–49 to win their first national championship. The Lakers have had several trips to the NJCAA National Tournament. The Lakers are known for making runs within the

Great Rivers Athletic Conference Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

(GRAC), and Region 24 Tournaments. The most successful programs at Lake Land are softball and women's basketball, particularly for their high number of NJCAA National Tournament Appearances. The majority of Lake Land Athletics are played at Laker Fieldhouse. Laker Fieldhouse plays host to Women's Basketball, Men's Basketball, and Women's Volleyball matches. Lake Land has other facilities used for baseball and softball matches, which are officially named Laker Baseball Field and Laker Softball Field.

Notable alumni

Athletes

Gary Gaetti Gary Joseph Gaetti (, ; born August 19, 1958), is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins (1981–1990), California Angels (1991–1993), Kansas City Royals (1993–1995), St. Louis Cardinals (1996–1998) ...

, retired

MLB All-Star The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

* Rex Morgan, former NBA player for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

* Victor Snipes, NCAA season steals leader in 1992

Politics

Darren Bailey Darren Bailey (born March 17, 1966) is an American far-right politician who was a Republican member of the Illinois Senate for the 55th district. Previously, he was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 109th district in So ...

, member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

Brad Halbrook Brad Halbrook is a Republican member of the Illinois General Assembly. He was a small business owner who ran a company making fences before joining the general assembly. In April 2012, Halbrook was appointed to the state legislature to fill out ...

, member of the

References

External links

* {{authority control Community colleges in Illinois Education in Coles County, Illinois Buildings and structures in Coles County, Illinois NJCAA athletics