Southwestern Illinois 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 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

with campuses in Belleville, Granite City, and Red Bud. It also has off-campus sites throughout the district, including

Scott Air Force Base Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville and O'Fallon, east-southeast of downtown St. Louis. Scott Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the U ...

and the

East St. Louis Community College Center East St. Louis Community College Center (ESLCCC) serves as host to Illinois community colleges operating satellite campuses in the city of East St. Louis, Illinois. Students can attend community college classes within their home community. ESLCCC i ...

History

The college was founded in 1946 as Belleville Junior College, operating under the jurisdiction of Belleville Township High School District 201. More than 60 percent of the 169 students enrolled for its first semester were World War II veterans who had just returned from service. In 1965, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Illinois Junior College Act, which created community college districts throughout the state. The following year, area residents voted to establish the Class I Belleville Junior College District 522. Belleville Junior College became Belleville Area College July 1, 1967. Construction of the Belleville Campus on Carlyle Avenue was completed in 1971. In 1983, the college opened the Granite City Center, followed by the Red Bud Center two years later. Both sites received approval for campus status from the Illinois Community College Board in July 1985. In 1999, a vote to change the name of Belleville Area College was passed. On January 1, 2000, the college name changed to Southwestern Illinois College.

Campuses

The college has three campuses, on Carlyle Avenue in Belleville, in Granite City and in Red Bud.

Academics

The college offers associate degrees and certificates. SWIC also serves the community through Community Education, Programs and Services for Older Persons (PSOP), and Selsius™ Corporate and Career Training. From 2020 through at least 2022, SWIC has offered one-year long special vocational training in

East St. Louis, Illinois East St. Louis is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois. It is directly across the Mississippi River from Downtown St. Louis, Missouri and the Gateway Arch National Park. East St. Louis is in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. Once a b ...

using state grants varying in size from $1.2 to $1.4 million. Local residents (in a city with a 97.4% African-American population) are offered training in Welding, Nurse Assistant, Food Service, Forklift Training, and Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Phlebotomy, Practical Nursing. Since 2019, 130 students have received credentials in this program. As of December 6, 2021, SWIC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

Student life

There are no dorms on campus. Southwestern Illinois College has many clubs on all three campuses, including

College Democrats College Democrats are organizations on many college campuses, working to elect Democratic Party candidates and provide networking and leadership opportunities for student members. The chapters have served as a way for college students to connect w ...

and

Phi Theta Kappa Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society ( or PTK) is the international honor society of students attending open-access institutions and seeking associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, or other college credentials. Its headquarters is in Jackson, Mississippi ...

, as well as other college activities. Every year the students elect someone to represent them on the Board of Trustees of Southwestern Illinois College.

Sports

College athletics teams are called the Blue Storm.

Arts

The William and Florence Schmidt Art Center is located on the Belleville campus of the college.

Notable people

Alumni

Lawrence Blackledge Lawrence Blackledge (born November 24, 1985) is an American professional basketball player. Nicknamed Lawrence "Trend" Blackledge. The Basketball Tournament Lawrence Blackledge played for the Golden Eagles in the 2018 edition of The Basketball To ...

– Professional basketball player *

Justin Hampson Justin Michael Hampson (born May 24, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres and New York Mets. Career Colorado Rockies Drafted by the Colora ...

–

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

player *

Josh Harrellson Josh Douglas Harrellson (born February 12, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Fukushima Firebonds of the Japanese B.League. Standing , he played center for the Kentucky Wildcats from 2008 to 2011. He was selected by the New O ...

– Professional basketball player * Matt Hughes – retired

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

, former

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Welterweight Champion,

UFC Hall of Fame The UFC Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors mixed martial artists and MMA personalities, established and maintained by the U.S.-based mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In a ...

member *

Sandra Magnus Sandra Hall Magnus (born October 30, 1964) is an American engineer and a former NASA astronaut. She returned to Earth with the crew of STS-119 ''Discovery'' on March 28, 2009, after having spent 134 days in orbit. She was assigned to the crew of ...

–

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

Zeke Moore (basketball) Ezekual Samuel James Moore (born November 30, 1997) is a professional Trinidadian-American basketball player for the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). He played college basketball for Saint Louis, Tulsa, ...

– Professional basketball player * Scott E. Penny - police chief and politician *

Randy Wells Randy David Wells (born August 28, 1982) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs. Professional career Wells was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 38th roun ...

–

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

/ Texas Rangers player

Faculty

* Otis L. Miller, Jr. – professor and politician * Scott E. Penny - police chief and politician *

Van Allen Plexico Van Allen Plexico (born January 12, 1968) is an American professor of Political Science and History, a Sports and Pop Culture podcast host and producer, and a science fiction and fantasy author. He is generally considered one of the leading fig ...

– author

References

External links

* {{authority control Belleville, Illinois Buildings and structures in St. Clair County, Illinois Community colleges in Illinois Education in Randolph County, Illinois Education in St. Clair County, Illinois Education in the Metro East Educational institutions established in 1946 Granite City, Illinois Universities and colleges in Madison County, Illinois 1946 establishments in Illinois NJCAA athletics