Moraine Valley Community College

Community college in Palos Hills, Illinois, U. S.
the college

Moraine Valley Community College is a public community college in Palos Hills, Illinois. Established in 1967, it is surrounded by the Cook County Forest Preserves. The college also operates satellite centers in Blue Island and Tinley Park, Illinois.

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, Illinois. 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. 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.

As a member of the NJCAA, the Moraine Valley Cyclones participate in 12 intercollegiate sports, including men's baseball, cross country, basketball, golf and soccer, and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball and volleyball. Moraine Valley is a member of the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference, which consists of seven other junior colleges in the surrounding area. The athletics program is housed in the Health, Fitness & Recreation Center (Building H) on campus and is quite successful with many teams advancing to national competitions. In 1998, the mascot for the college was changed from the Marauders to the Cyclones.

Moraine Valley offers its students many opportunities to get involved on campus. There are about 40 clubs and organizations in which students can participate. The focus of these groups include, but are not limited to, special academic interests, religion, diversity and awareness, service and student government. Additionally, Moraine Valley provides various facilities for its students to spend their free time, such as the library, Fine and Performing Arts Center, Student Union, the Health, Fitness & Recreation Center, a 1.45 mile jogging path, and the Jack G. Bradley observation deck.