Oakton College

Public academic institution near Chicago, formed 1969

Oakton College

Type| Public community college
Established| 1969; 54 years ago (1969)
Endowment| $5.55 million (2020)[1]
President| Joianne L. Smith[2]
Students| 7,433 (spring 2022)[3]
Location|

Des Plaines and Skokie

Illinois

United States

Website| www.oakton.edu

Oakton College is a public community college with campuses in Des Plaines, Illinois and Skokie, Illinois. It was established in 1969 in Morton Grove, Illinois and moved to its current locations in 1980.

## History[edit]

Oakton College opened in 1969 as Oakton Community College in former industrial buildings at Oakton and Nagle in Morton Grove. This original campus closed when the Des Plaines and Skokie campuses opened in 1980. The Skokie campus opened in 1980 at the site of the former Niles East High School, an art deco architecture building that was used in the films Sixteen Candles and Risky Business. The school produced two Nobel laureates. A photograph of the school from 1993 is in the collection of the local historical society.[4] The college demolished the school buildings. Oakton College's Koehnline Museum of Art has about 40 film posters from African American films.[5][6] It announced on 2 January 2023 that it will be renamed Oakton College as of 17 January, with updated logo and branding to roll out over the next year.[7]

### Des Plaines Campus[edit]

Oakton's main campus in Des Plaines is located on 147 acres (59.5 ha) of woodlands and prairie, between Golf Road to the south and Central Road to the north, bordered on the west by the Des Plaines River. The college, a modern, red-brick building with 435,000 square feet (40,400 m2), houses 65 classrooms and 46 educational laboratories, as well as student services, administrative and faculty offices. Special facilities include 19 computer classrooms; a Performing Arts Center; the Business Institute; the William A. Koehnline Museum of Art (/ˈkɛnlaɪn/); a Child Care Center; and a teleconferencing center, gym, fitness center, library and bookstore. The Des Plaines Campus has about 10,000 students enrolled.

Construction on a new addition to the northeast side of the campus began in April 2012, with a projected open date in time for the 2014 summer semester. However, due to weather and issues with the concrete slab used for the ground settlement, the building was not available for use until the spring semester of 2015. The $39 million addition, which stands three stories tall and spans 93,000 square feet, is the largest structural change to the campus since its opening in 1980. The new building, which houses health and sciences classes, is part of a $68.5 million five year Facilities Master Plan which went into effect in December 2010.[8] The community college will seek certification with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design due to its features, which include self shading windows which will provide natural lighting to 75 percent of the classrooms during the day.[9] In honor of President Margaret Burke Lee and her planned retirement in June 2015 after 30 years of service, the building has been named the Margaret Burke Lee Science and Health Careers Center.

Joianne L. Smith is the college's fourth president.[10]

### Skokie Campus[edit]

The Ray Hartstein Campus adjoins a residential area in Skokie. The state-of-the-art building was dedicated in 1995 and is set on a spacious lawn with mature trees as well as new plantings. The building provides almost 165,000 square feet (15,300 m2) of space for 31 classrooms, 12 laboratories and other educational and administrative offices. Special facilities include a teleconferencing and distance learning center; a Child Care Center; and offices for student activities, the Emeritus Program, Alliance for Lifelong Learning (ALL) and English as a Second Language (ESL)/Literacy.

## Academics[edit]

The college offers both credit and non-credit classes. Some credit classes include courses in Accounting, Computer Science, Humanities, Mathematics, etc. Oakton College is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and the North Central Association.

In 2014, Oakton entered into a dual enrollment agreement with Shimer College, a Great Books Program college in Chicago, under which Oakton students could attend Shimer classes for credit at Oakton.[11] It was the first extension of Shimer's dual enrollment system beyond the City Colleges of Chicago.

## Student life[edit]

Oakton College is a member of National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), and offers men's teams in baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, and track and field; and women's teams in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Students may also participate in a variety of intramural sports on campus.

There are over 50 clubs on campus. The community college also has a Student Government Association, Student Judicial Board, the student newspaper OCCurrence, and other student led programs.

## Area served[edit]

Cook County Suburban Community College District 535[12] serves 450,000 residents in northeast Cook County, Illinois. The school serves Chicago's North Shore suburbs of Des Plaines, Evanston, Glencoe, Glenview, Golf, Kenilworth, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northbrook, Northfield, Park Ridge, Rosemont, Skokie, Wilmette, and Winnetka.

## References[edit]

1. ^ As of June 30, 2020. U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 (Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. February 19, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
2. ^ "About President Smith". Oakton Community College
3. ^ "College Navigator - Oakton Community College".
4. ^ "Niles East High School Building Photograph, 1993".
5. ^ "Permanent Collection - Oakton Community College".
6. ^ "Permanent Collection - Oakton Community College".
7. ^ Caroline Kubzansky (2023-01-03). "Oakton Community College to drop 'community' from its name". Chicago Tribune.
8. ^ "New $39 million Oakton science and health building open for classe". Daily Herald. Retrieved November 29, 2015
9. ^ "Oakton to start construction of new science building". Daily Herald. Retrieved November 29, 2015
10. ^ "Joianne Smith, Ph.D. — College of Humanities and Sciences".
11. ^ "Dual Enrollment at Shimer for Oakton College Students". Shimer College. 2014-12-29. Retrieved 2015-01-09.
12. ^ "Map of Suburban Community College Districts in Cook County, IL" (PDF). Cook County Clerk.

## External links[edit]

* Official website

42°03′48″N 87°52′49″W﻿ / ﻿42.063444°N 87.880201°W﻿ / 42.063444; -87.880201

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Colleges and universities in metropolitan Chicago

Community and
junior colleges|

* DuPage
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Graduate
schools|

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Des Plaines, Illinois

Public schools|

* Community Consolidated SD 62
* East Maine School District 63
* Community Consolidated SD 59
* Maine Township HSD 207
* Maine West HS
* Maine North HS (closed)

Private schools|

* The Willows Academy

Other education|

* Des Plaines Public Library
* Oakton College

Landmarks|

* Des Plaines crater
* Des Plaines Methodist Camp Ground
* Lake Opeka
* Maryville Academy
* McDonald's #1 Store Museum
* Rivers Casino

Transportation|

* Cumberland station
* Des Plaines station

This list is incomplete.

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Skokie, Illinois

History|

* National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie

Education|

| Public PK-8|

* Evanston/Skokie SD 65
* Skokie SD 68
* Skokie/Morton Grove SD 69
* Fairview South SD 72
* East Prairie SD 73
* Skokie SD 73½

|

Public HS|

* Niles Twp HSD 219
* Niles North HS
* Niles West HS
* Evanston Twp HSD

Private PK-12|

* Fasman Yeshiva High School
* Ida Crown Jewish Academy
* MCC Academy Elementary school

Tertiary|

* Oakton College Skokie Campus
* Hebrew Theological College

Landmarks|

* Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
* Westfield Old Orchard

CTA stations|

* Dempster–Skokie
* Oakton–Skokie

This list is incomplete.

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Evanston, Illinois

History|

* Evanston Township

Areas|

* Central Street

Education|

* Evanston/Skokie School District 65
* Evanston Township High School
* Roycemore School
* Northwestern University
* template
* Oakton College (operates no facilities in Evanston, but Evanston is in its service area)
* Evanston Public Library

| Closed|

* Free School of Evanston
* Marywood Academy

|

Landmarks|

* Ladd Arboretum
* Mount Trashmore

NRHP listings|

* Andridge Apartments
* Frederick B. Carter Jr. House
* Charles G. Dawes House
* George B. Dryden House
* Evanston Towers
* Grosse Point Light(house)
* Marywood Academy
* Dwight Perkins House
* Ridgewood
* Old Roycemore School building
* Shakespeare Garden
* Edward Kirk Warren House and Garage
* Frances Willard House (Evanston, Illinois)
* Woman's Christian Temperance Union Administration Building
* Woman's Club of Evanston

This list is incomplete.

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Niles, Illinois

Public schools|

* East Maine School District 63
* Park Ridge-Niles School District 64
* Golf School District 67
* Niles Elementary School District 71
* Fairview School District 72
* Niles Township District for Special Education 807
* Maine Township High School District 207
* Niles Township High School District 219

Private schools|

* St. John Brebeuf Catholic School
* Northridge Preparatory School
* Notre Dame College Prep

| Moved|

* Chicago Futabakai Japanese School

|

Colleges and universities|

* Oakton College

Landmarks|

* St. John Brebeuf Catholic Church

This list is incomplete. Students in Niles may be assigned to other schools outside of the city limits.

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States

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