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North Central College

Coordinates: 41°46′32″N 88°8′34″W / 41.77556°N 88.14278°W / 41.77556; -88.14278
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North Central College
TypePrivate
Established1861
Endowment$79.7 million
PresidentHarold R. Wilde
Academic staff
125
Students2,575
Undergraduates2,020
Postgraduates535
Location
Naperville
,
Illinois
CampusSuburban
AffiliationsUnited Methodist Church
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
MascotCardinals
Websitewww.northcentralcollege.edu

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 2007-8 academic year total $32,811.

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 58 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 trimester-based, consisting of three 10-week terms.

Recognition

Recently North Central College was named one of the Colleges of Distinction, a list of schools emphasizing student engagement, strong teaching, a vibrant community, and successful outcomes. North Central has consistently been recognized as a leader in liberal arts studies. In the 2007, 2008, and 2009 editions of the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Rankings, North Central College is ranked on the list of America's "Top Midwest Master's Schools," as well as "America's Best Colleges." NCC is also one of Kaplan's "320 Most Interesting Colleges."

History

North Central College was 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.

Location

Retaining the charm of an early 19th century settlement but among the fastest-growing communities in the nation, Naperville has been ranked the second "best place to live in America" by Money magazine; historic downtown Naperville offers many family-owned shops and fine restaurants; the nearby Illinois Research and Development Corridor provides extraordinary opportunities for student internships; the excitement and cultural riches of Chicago's Loop are an hour away by train, with a station just blocks from campus.

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 22 sports and has won 22 national championships - 18 NCAA and 4 NAIA. The total of number national championships puts the college eighth on the all time list for most national championships. North Central is the only school in the CCIW to win a national championship in four (4) different sports.

North Central College was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1927-1937.

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.

Men's Varsity Sports

Baseball
Basketball
Cross Country
Football
Golf
Soccer
Swimming
Tennis
Track and Field (Indoor/Outdoor)
Wrestling

Women's Varsity Sports

Basketball
Cross Country
Golf
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Swimming
Tennis
Track and Field (Indoor/Outdoor)
Volleyball

Athletic Facilities

Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium, which seats 5,500, was completed in 1999, while the Jay and Dot Buikema track was resurfaced in 1997 and a Safeplay Plus artificial playing surface was installed in 2002.

The Stadium has hosted numerous high-profile events, including the Illinois high school boys and girls soccer state finals and the Wes Spencer Crosstown Classic, the annual showdown between Naperville North and Naperville Central high schools. It also served as the temporary home of the Chicago Fire for two seasons.

North Central College’s baseball facility, Zimmerman Stadium, which includes Alumni Field, was dedicated in 1999. The home of Cardinal baseball resembles a professional minor league facility, with permanent seating for 750 fans and a fully enclosed and wireless pressbox. The facility has hosted the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association summer state tournament and Major League Baseball’s RBI World Series and Area Code tryouts.

Cardinal softball plays at Shanower Family Field. In April 2002, the field was dedicated to honor the family of Don Shanower, beloved professor emeritus of speech communication and theatre and enthusiastic softball fan. The dedication took on added meaning after the Shanower’s son Dan, a commander in the U.S. Navy, was among the victims of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon. The field has been host to an NCAA III regional tournament and was part of Major League Baseball’s RBI World Series.

Merner Field House is home to all Cardinal indoor sports, with 2,000 seats in Gregory Arena for the basketball and volleyball teams. In 2006, a new running surface was installed to accommodate the indoor track teams.

On the second floor of Merner Field House is Nichols Gymnasium, home to the North Central College wrestling team. The College’s swimming pool is also located in the Field House.

  • North Central cross country runners preparing for a race.
    North Central cross country runners preparing for a race.

Fine Arts

Pfeiffer Hall is North Central College's Fine Arts 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 recently finished construction on its $29 million Fine Arts Center and Concert Hall in September 2008. Designed by the internationally acclaimed Chicago architectural firm of Loebl, Schlossman and Hackl, Inc., the 57,000-square-foot (5,300 m2) facility was planned and sited with the needs of both the College and the Naperville community in mind. Plans 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 within a few blocks of the North Central campus.

The Concert Hall is 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 also features the Madden Theatre, which is a 150-seat “black box” experimental theatre (that can double as a dance studio) as well as a facility to provide much needed music rehearsal space, practice rooms and offices. The center also houses a spacious lobby, a kitchen facility and an art gallery (all supportive of major civic gatherings). [1]

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.

Media

Main article: WONC

North Central College is home to WONC-FM 89.1, 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.

The Chronicle is the student newspaper of North Central College.

Notable Alumni

External links

References

Template:Associated New American Colleges

41°46′32″N 88°8′34″W / 41.77556°N 88.14278°W / 41.77556; -88.14278

  1. ^ Canfield, Greg (2008-09-10). ""Fine arts center set to open at North Central College in Naperville"". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
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