North Central College
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
North Central College is a private, 4-year comprehensive liberal arts college located in Naperville, Illinois. Founded in 1861, it is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Comprehensive fees for the 2006-7 academic year total $30,150.
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| President | Harold R. Wilde |
| School type | Private |
| Religious affiliation | United Methodist Church |
| Founded | 1861 |
| Location | Naperville, Illinois |
| Enrollment | 1,900 full-time undergraduates |
| Faculty | 125 full-time |
| Endowment | $25 million (2004) |
| Campus surroundings | Suburban |
| Campus size | 59 acres (227,000 m²) |
| Sports teams | Competes in NCAA Division III |
| Mascot | Cardinals |
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[edit] Academics
North Central College is a private, four-year college featuring bachelors and masters degrees. At its core, it is a liberal-arts institution with a nearly 150-year tradition of education. Today, however, it is a comprehensive college offering more than 50 undergraduate majors leading to a bachelor's degree, as well as master's degrees in business administration, computer science, education, leadership studies, liberal studies and management information systems.
The academic calendar of North Central College is a trimester consisting of three 10-week terms.
North Central College is home to WONC-FM, one of the nation's premier college radio stations. At a count of 20, no other college radio station has garnered more Marconi College Radio Awards than WONC.
[edit] Fine Arts
Pfeiffer Hall is North Central College's Fine Art's Building. It was built in 1926. Only six months after it opened, the Naperville Women's Club performed "Little Women" in Pfeiffer Hall. This structure was also used by the College to show movies. The first "talkie" was shown in 1930. Today Pfeiffer Hall is the main auditorium and home to the speech communication/theater and music departments as well as to the instrumental and choral performing groups and North Central's nationally ranked forensics team.
North Central College is moving forward with its plan to construct a $29 million Fine Arts Center and Concert Hall. Designed by the internationally acclaimed Chicago architectural firm of Loebl, Schlossman and Hackl, Inc., the 57,000-square-foot facility has been planned and sited with the needs of both the College and the Naperville community in mind. Plans have evolved over a 15-year period, driven by explosive growth in the College’s music, theatre and art programs, but also a parallel transformation of the City’s downtown, which has brought more than 50 restaurants, numerous national stores and the first four- and five-story buildings to within a few blocks of the North Central campus.
The Concert Hall will be named in honor of Dr. Myron Wentz, Class of 1963. Nearly $10 million in gifts from Wentz — a scientist, and entrepreneur and music lover — over the past two years have brought the facility to center stage. (Plans for a new Fine Arts Center were put on hold a decade ago when a devastating flood in Naperville forced the College to turn its attention to its damaged athletic complex instead.)
In addition to Wentz Concert Hall, the Fine Arts Center will house a spacious lobby, a kitchen facility and an art gallery (all supportive of major civic gatherings) as well as a 150-seat “black box” experimental theatre (that can double as a dance studio), and much needed music rehearsal space, practice rooms and offices.
North Central College has a very strong theatre program. Their 2000 production of "The Pirates of Penzance" was selected to perform at Kennedy Center American College Theatre's Region III Festival. Their productions of Ken Ludwig's "Moon Over Buffalo" and Schmidt and Jone's musical "Philemon" were both selected to perform at the festival's "Evening of Scenes" in 2004 and 2005. Both performances were very well received at the festival.
[edit] Athletics
North Central College's mascot is the Cardinal, in tradition of the bird's habitance in Illinois. The school competes in NCAA Division III and the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). It sponsors 19 sports and has won 22 national championships.
The college is best known for its Men's Track and Field and Cross Country teams, which have won many national championships. The campus has also hosted past NCAA Division III national events.
North Central cross country runners preparing for a race.
[edit] History
North Central College was first founded in 1861 as Plainfield College in Plainfield, Illinois. Classes were first held on November 11 of that year. On February 15, 1864, the Board of Trustees changed the name of the school to North-Western College. The college moved to Naperville in 1870. The name was again changed in 1926 to North Central College.
[edit] Notable Alumni
- James Henry Breasted - Egyptologist
- Joe Birkett - Illinois State Attorney
- Dennis Hastert- Former Speaker of the House (attended North Central College, and later graduated from Wheaton College.) Mr. Hastert spoke at North Central College's graduation in 2004.
[edit] External links
| College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin |
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