Since its inception in 1970, Lewis and Clark Community College has been working hard to serve the 220,000 plus residents of the College's district, which includes all or parts of seven counties. The College has developed educational programs and partnerships that serve as models for other educational institutions throughout the nation. The last couple of years have witnessed many new landmark achievements for Lewis and Clark, making this one of the most exciting times in the history of the College, and supplying a great deal of promise and optimism for the future. Some of the College's most recent highlights include: continued record enrollment growth, new academic programs, new business partnerships, construction projects, new revenue streams, new faculty and baord members and a new report showing the tremendous value Lewis and Clark brings to the region.
L&C has experienced more than 20 consecutive spring and fall semesters of enrollment growth. This decade of growth continues to be one of the longest, continuous growth trends in the state among all community colleges, and Lewis and Clark remains optimistic that this trend will continue into the future. Currently the College welcomes more than 12,000 credit and non-credit students each semester.
As the College continues to grow, the demand for additional classes and the necessary faculty to teach them also increases. Over the past 4 years, more than 40 new faculty members have been hired by the College as programs expand and new academic programs are developed to meet the needs of growing enrollments.
The third phase of the N.O. Nelson Campus in Edwardsville created a permanent location for the College's partnership with SIUE - the Southwest Illinois Advanced Manufacturing Initiative (SIAM). The second phase provided much needed classroom and laboratory space for students. The Edwardsville/Glen Carbon area is the largest segment of student population at Lewis and Clark outside of the Alton/Godfrey area.
The College's new Templin Nursing Building allowed the nursing department to expand into this 70,000-square foot, state-of-the-art facility. The construction was made possible by a $2.5 million donation from the Alton Memorial Health Services Foundation. The project was completed in August 2007.
A new partnership has been formed between the College and ConocoPhillips to create a new Process Operations Technology program. The new program was designed in conjunction with the refinery, as the demand for refinery operators continues to increase both locally and nationwide. This is the only program of its kind in the State, and the program has already proven to be in demand by students. Part of the popularity of the program can be attributed to the high demand the refining industry is experiencing, as current process operations technicians with two-year degrees can begin working in the field at a salary of $50,000.
The College's allied health programs continue to find success as pass rates fro professional/occupational licensure exams (nursing, dental, and occupational therapy assistant) have in every case exceeded the national average, and in most cases have exceeded the average by a significant margin.
Perhaps one of the biggest stories recently for the College is the result of the socioeconomic impact report completed by CC Benefits, Inc. of Idaho. The report highlights the benefits Lewis and Clark provides to the region. As stated in the report, graduates are realizing an annual return of 19 percent on their original investment in tuition, fees and deferred income. Over their lifetime, they will earn 35 percent more than high school graduates without higher degrees. State and local taxpayers earn an average 8 percent return on their investment in support of the College. The report states that a total of $231.1 million of income annually (3.2 percent of the region's annual income) is infused into the regional economy as a result of College operations, increased earnings from past Lewis and Clark graduates, and other indirect effects of these graduates on the economy. The impact includes $1.3 million of annual savings in avoided social costs (e.g. unemployment, substance abuse, criminal behavior) that are known to decline as the population's educational achievement increases. This report is a rare opportunity to quantify the value Lewis and Clark delivers to the state and local community.
The College thanks its students, area residents and the local lawmakers for their continued encouragement and support, which has aided the College in the past and will continue to help as Lewis and Clark plans for future growth and development. For more information, visit www.lc.edu.
Principia College is the legacy of a school founded in 1898 by Mary Kimball Morgan in St. Louis when she became dissatisfied with the education available for her two boys. The school grew — with the first high school graduation in 1906, then the addition of one of the nation's first junior colleges, and finally the first Principia College graduation, held on the new campus in Elsah, Illinois, in 1934. The coeducational, four-year liberal arts institution sits atop 300-foot bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River – just 10 miles from the site of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debate in Alton. The separate pre-K through 12 campus is located in west St. Louis county. Principia has always placed significant emphasis on character education and global citizenship. While the curriculum is nonreligious and there is no official church affiliation, Principia is the only college in the world for Christian Scientists. The College's current student body comes from 35 states and 25 nations.
The College's history is not without intrigue. In 1954, the United States Air Force sent a delegation including Charles Lindbergh to evaluate the Principia College campus as a possible site for the Air Force Academy. The Elsah campus was one of two finalists out of 300 sites considered, and thankfully for Principia, the Air Force ultimately chose the present academy location in Colorado Springs.
The history and beauty of the Elsah campus were officially recognized in 1993, when Congressman (now Senator) Richard Durbin visited campus to present a plaque designating Principia College as a National Historic Landmark. Along with West Point, which also has a striking river view, Principia College is one of just a few such landmark college campuses. Designed by celebrated American architect Bernard Maybeck to resemble an English village, the campus buildings were constructed with a combination of native and imported materials and with the distinctive Maybeck style that has drawn nationwide attention to Principia.
In recent years the College has presented an extensive slate of prominent guest speakers, including Margaret Thatcher, George Bush Sr., Jimmy Carter, Colin Powell, Sandra Day O'Connor, Henry Kissinger, Elie Wiesel, Coretta Scott King, Thomas Friedman, David McCullough, Maya Angelou, Horton Foote, Ralph Nader, Wole Soyinka, and in April 2006, Barack Obama. Principia hosts the oldest collegiate public affairs conference in the nation, dating back to 1939, and more recently introduced an annual Pan African Conference addressing African development. Principia has hosted three political debates, including the Durbin vs. Salvi senatorial debate in 1996 and two debates for Illinois U.S. congressional district 19, in which the College is located. Principia's programs are free and open to the public. More information can be found at www.prin.edu/college/events.
Since 1995, Principia has designed and built six solar cars from scratch that have competed or been featured in China, Greece, North America, and Australia. Despite the fact that Principia's solar car team is constituted of volunteer undergraduate students and faculty, it has placed frequently in the top ten, defeating teams of graduate students from larger engineering schools including MIT, Stanford, Purdue, Berkeley, UCLA, Yale, Virginia Tech, and Northwestern. Find out more about Principia's solar car program at www.prin.edu/solar.
While excavating with a backhoe in 1999, Principia employee Benny White discovered a molar from a 17,500-year-old mammoth. Since then the College has developed a paleontology course granting academic credit to students who are in the process of excavating and preserving the entire skeleton of "Benny" the mammoth. Learn more at www.prin.edu/mammoth.
We think Mrs. Morgan and her sons would be pleased to see Principia College today. Complemented by its state-of-the-art athletic facility under construction, modern classrooms, computer technology, and renovated Maybeck residence halls, the tradition and spirit of Principia are vibrant and enduring. The College offers public drive-through tours of the campus during daylight hours Monday through Saturday and on Sunday afternoons. Customized guided tours for groups or individuals may be arranged by calling 618-374-5148. Read more about Principia College at www.prin.edu/college.
Established in 1957, SIUE has grown from 1,776 students to more than 13,000. Situated on 2,660 acres of rolling hills, woodlands, and lakes, the University is a valuable educational and community resource in Southwestern Illinois. Many choose SIUE for its small class size and personal attention from faculty. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 17 to 1, students interact with professors while attending classes often taught by graduate students at other universities.
SIUE offers an outstanding faculty, affordable tuition, an architecturally distinguished campus, a suburban setting, and easy access to the professional and cultural opportunities of metropolitan St. Louis, just 25 minutes from campus.
SIUE is a vibrant, growing premier metropolitan university offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in the Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering, and Nursing and professional degrees in Dentistry and Pharmacy. More than 26 percent of the University's undergraduate students —some 3,000 students— live on campus.
An economic impact study from the University released in spring indicates that of more than 70,000 SIUE alumni, more than 37,000 live in and contribute to the community and local economy. During FY05, SIUE, along with its households and visitors, directly contributed more than $178 million in expenditures to the local economy. For every state tax dollar spent on the University, the institution generates $5 total spending in the local economy.
The University serves the community through a variety of outreach programs available to help meet the needs of businesses and entrepreneurs. University Park, offering applied research and technology on the SIUE campus, links research and technology-based businesses to resources and the environment necessary to gain a competitive advantage.
A wide variety of artistic and cultural opportunities are available to the community through SIUE, including theater performances, Intercollegiate Athletics events, music concerts, art classes, summer camps or visiting artist lectures.
The University offers arts workshops and sports, writing, music, and science camps throughout the summer for children ages 6 to 18. The University's Office of Continuing Education supports and organizes non-traditional academic, personal, and professional experiences for students of all ages. Programs include off-campus credit courses, leisure learning, and career and professional development activities.
SIUE adds value to people's lives. It is a community partner dedicated to fostering a climate of collaboration, cooperation, and stewardship. For more information or to visit the University online, browse the Web site: www.siue.edu.
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