Joliet Junior College (JJC) 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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County, Illinois, Will County. It had a population of ...

. Founded in 1901, it was the first public community college founded in the United States. In Spring 2014, the college enrolled 16,375 students. Every year, 48,000 students enroll in the college's academic programs and in non-credit programs.

History

Joliet Junior College was founded in 1901 by J. Stanley Brown, Superintendent of Joliet Township High School, and

William Rainey Harper William Rainey Harper (July 24, 1856 – January 10, 1906) was an American academic leader, an accomplished semiticist, and Baptist clergyman. Harper helped to establish both the University of Chicago and Bradley University and served as the i ...

, President of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. Brown, who came to Joliet in 1893, first served as the principal of the high school. Throughout his time in Joliet, Brown became a well-known supporter of higher education, and would often encourage his students to attend college after graduation. Many students did not attend college because it was too expensive. Brown consulted his friend, Harper, and together they created Joliet Junior College. Classes took place at Joliet Township High School. The first class was made up of six students in 1901. In 1916, the name of the institution was formalized. In 1917, Joliet Junior College received accreditation from the

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It ...

. Joliet Junior College's student newspaper, ''The Blazer'', was first published in October 1929. Before ''The Blazer'', college bulletins were reported in the high school paper. Joliet Junior College moved to its current location, at 1215 Houbolt Road in Joliet, in September 1969. The building at this location became fully operational in 1974. Joliet Junior College's first president, Elmer Rowley, was instrumental in establishing this new building and location. Today, Joliet Junior College has additional sites in Romeoville, Morris, and Frankfort, all in Illinois.

Campus locations

The college has three campuses and three centers: * Main Campus, 1215 Houbolt, Joliet, IL 60431 * City Center Campus, 235 North Chicago Street, Joliet, IL 60432 * Romeoville Campus, 1125 W. Romeo Road, Romeoville, IL 60446 * Morris Education Center, 725 School Street, Morris, IL 60450 * Frankfort Education Center, 201 Colorado Avenue, Frankfort, IL 60423 * Weitendorf Agricultural Education Center, 17840 W. Laraway Road, Joliet, IL 60433

Athletics

Joliet Junior College is a member of both the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions across 24 states ...

(NJCAA) and the

North Central Community College Conference The North Central Community College Conference, commonly known as the N4C, was part of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Conference championships were held and individuals can be named to All-Conference and All-Academic tea ...

. The school currently sponsors the following sports:
Men's:

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...

, cross-country, and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

Women's:

, cross-country,

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball 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. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. The 2002 Joliet Wolves football team won the junior college national championship. The

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

program was eliminated in 2011 after 62 years of play due to budget cuts and to allow the school to be in compliance with

Title IX Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receiv ...

National championships

* NJCAA National Football Championship,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

* NJCAA Men's Division III Basketball Championship, 2010, 1994 * NJCAA Division III Baseball National Championship, 2012, 2008, 1994 In 2017 JJC opened a new facility called the Event Center which is home to the athletic department and is used for special events and graduation ceremonies.

Transportation

The main campus of Joliet Junior College in Joliet is served by Pace. Route 501 provides bus service from campus to downtown Joliet and other destinations connecting with

Metra Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 train station, stati ...

service on the

Rock Island District The Rock Island District (RI) is a Metra commuter rail line from Chicago, Illinois, southwest to Joliet. Metra does not refer to its lines by color, but the timetable accents for the Rock Island District line are "Rocket Red" in honor of the Ch ...

and

Heritage Corridor The Heritage Corridor (HC) is a Metra commuter rail line in Chicago, Illinois, and its southwestern suburbs, terminating in Joliet, Illinois. While Metra does not refer to its lines by colors, the Heritage Corridor appears on Metra timetables as ...

at Joliet Transportation Center. Further connections are available to

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

service here via the

Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a long-distance passenger train operated daily by Amtrak on a route between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, with major stops in St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin. Three days per week, t ...

and Lincoln Service.

Notable alumni

* Katherine Dunham, 1928 - American dancer, choreography, author, educator and social activist * Dr. John C. Houbolt, 1938 - NASA scientist * George Sangmeister, 1951 - former Illinois Congressman * Phyllis Reynolds Tedesco Naylor, 1953 - author of children's books, including Shiloh. 1992 Newbery Medal Winner *

Harry Geris Harry Geris (November 22, 1947 – April 24, 2008) was a Canadian Olympic wrestler who represented Canada in the 1968, 1972, and 1976 Olympics, 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and 1975 Pan American Games. Early life Geris was ...

, 1969 - Canadian Olympic wrestler * Curtis J. Crawford, 1971 - CEO, Xceo Inc. * Arnette Hallman, 1978 - Professional basketball player * Kelvin Hayden, 2003 - Professional Football Player with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

* Rob Ninkovich, 2004 - American football defensive end for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

* Jeris Pendleton, 2008- Professional Football Player with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

* Mary K. O'Brien - Illinois state legislator and judge

References

External links

* {{authority control 1901 establishments in Illinois Community colleges in Illinois Education in Joliet, Illinois Universities and colleges established in 1901 NJCAA schools Two-year colleges in the United States