Moraine Valley Community College

In 1967, the college was officially created after two years of effort led by the Oak Lawn Rotary Club that included proposals, approval and planning. It opened its first temporary office in Oak Lawn, IL. A year later, a contest was held to give the college its name, Moraine Valley Community College. The name was chosen because of its location: "where the Valparaiso and Tinley moraines meet to form a valley." Since a campus was not yet established, the first classes began Sept. 16, 1968 in leased warehouses in Alsip, IL.[4]

A year later in 1969, seven temporary buildings opened on the Palos Hills campus, 9000 W. College Parkway. In 1970, with enrollment at 4,089, construction began on the first permanent building on the campus, which opened two years later in 1972. From that point on, buildings have been continually added to the campus until as recently as 2014. The last temporary building was torn down in 1994. The first extension site, the Education Center at Blue Island, opened in 2004. On Oct. 6, 2010, the second extension site, the Southwest Education Center, opened in Tinley Park, IL.[4] The U.S. Green Building Council awarded that facility LEED Platinum certification for its high level of "green" performance.[5]

Moraine Valley has grown its international student interest over the years. In the late 1970s, the college had about 40 international students. By 1984, no international students were enrolled in the college. In 1989, the college started a program to appeal to students of other countries and to aid them in their academic endeavors, and as a result, the international student population has grown to over 200 in the present day.[6]

Many accommodations are now made for international students at Moraine Valley, including:

• Intensive English Program
• Airport Arrival Service
• Housing Assistance through the Host Home Program
• Cross Cultural Counseling[7]
• International Student Ambassadors

• Ben Skora

• Official website
• Student newspaper