Harper College

Not to be confused with Harpur College.

For the former college in Kansas, see Harding University.

Harper College

William Rainey Harper College
Type	Public community college
Established	1965;60 years ago (1965)
Endowment	$25.4 million (2019) [1]
President	Avis Proctor
Academic staff	201 full-time and 437 part-time [2]
Administrative staff	810 full and part-time
Students	13,477 [2]
Location	Palatine , Illinois , United States 42°04′52″N88°04′16″W / 42.081°N 88.071°W / 42.081; -88.071
Campus	Urban
Colors	Blue and Silver
Sporting affiliations	NJCAA Division III
Mascot	Hawk
Website	www.harpercollege.edu

William Rainey Harper College is a public community college in Palatine, Illinois. It was established by referendum in 1965 and opened in September 1967. It is named for William Rainey Harper, a pioneer in the junior college movement in the United States and the first president of the University of Chicago. ^[3]

Campus

Harper College's Performing Arts Center

The Avanté Center

Harper College has a 200-acre (80.9 ha) campus, approximately 25 miles (40 km) northwest of downtown Chicago, in the suburb of Palatine, Illinois.

Harper also offers classes and services at other locations:

• Harper College Learning and Career Center in Prospect Heights, Illinois
• The Harper Professional Center in Schaumburg, Illinois
• Harper College works in partnership with the Illinois Small Business Development Center (ISBDC), which is part of the Harper Professional Center in Schaumburg.
• Harper College works in partnership with the North Suburban Cook County American Job Center in Wheeling, Illinois ^[4]

Service area

Harper College District 512 comprises these communities: Arlington Heights, Barrington, Barrington Hills, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Lake Barrington, Mount Prospect, North Barrington, Palatine, Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, South Barrington, Tower Lakes, Wheeling and small portions of Buffalo Grove, Carpentersville, Deer Park, Des Plaines, Fox River Grove, Hanover Park and Roselle. ^[5]

Athletics

Football

The football program was eliminated in January 2012.

• 2003 NJCAA Division III National Champions
• 2004 NJCAA Division III National Champions
• 2008 NJCAA Division III National Champions
• Notable coaches, John Eliasik ^[6] (member of NJCAA and Region IV Halls-of-Fame) and Dragan Teonic (2008 National Champions).

Cross country

• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2011 ^[7]
• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2012 ^[8]
• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2013 ^[9]
• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2014
• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2015 ^[10]
• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2016 ^[11]
• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2017 ^[12]
• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2018 ^[13]
• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2023 ^[14]

Track and field

• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2005
• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2006
• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2007
• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2008
• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2009
• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2011
• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2012
• NJCAA National Division III Runners-Up 2013(M)
• NJCAA National Division III Runners-Up 2015(M)
• NJCAA National Division III Runners-Up 2017(W)
• NJCAA National Division III Champions 2023(W)

Wrestling

• Coach Dan Loprieno ^[15] inducted in 2008 to the NJCAA Region IV Hall of Fame.
• NJCAA 2010 Wrestling Champions ^[16]
• NJCAA Division III National Champions in 2006 and 2001. The 2006-07 team finished second in the nation, earned fifth consecutive district title and had 10 National qualifiers and seven All-Americans.

Women's basketball

• Julie Jestus, 2006 NJCAA Region IV Hall of Fame ^[15]

Women's volleyball

• NJCAA Division III National Champions 2016 ^[17]
• NJCAA Division III National Runners-Up 2017 ^[17]

Notable alumni

• Angelo Dawkins, WWE professional wrestler, One half of the tag team, The Street Profits.
• Quincy Black, linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ^[18]
• Curtis Blaydes (attended), professional Mixed Martial Artist, current UFC Heavyweight Contender ^[19]
• Will Brooks, football player, MMA fighter for the PFL, formerly with the UFC and former Bellator MMA Lightweight Champion ^[20]
• Mauro Fiore, class of 1984, cinematographer ^[21] In 2010, Fiore won the Academy Award for Cinematography for "Avatar." ^[22]
• Jason ^[23] and Clay Guida, ^[24] professional mixed martial arts fighters
• Dave Kingman, 1968, Major League Baseball Player - 440 Career Home Runs.
• Charlie Kirk, 2015, activist and talk show host (attended) ^[25]
• E. E. Knight, class of 1985, science fiction and fantasy author ^[26]
• Al Levine (born 1968), Major League Baseball pitcher
• John Loprieno, class of 1980: ^[27] actor, writer, director ^[28]
• Marlee Matlin, ^[29] actress. In 1986 she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama for her role in Children of a Lesser God . ^[30]
• Rosemary Mulligan, Illinois state legislator, class of 1982 ^[31]
• Steve Octavien, linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys
• Haley Reinhart, singer-songwriter and actress ^[32]
• Mike Rio, junior college national wrestling champion at 149 lbs; current MMA fighter; formerly for the Ultimate Fighting Championship ^[33]
• Christopher J. Schneider, professor of sociology at Wilfrid Laurier University. ^{[34] [35] [36] [37]}
• Rob Sherman (1953–2016), political activist, perennial candidate, and businessman

References

1. As of June 30, 2019. "U.S. and Canadian 2019 NTSE Participating Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2019 Endowment Market Value, and Percentage Change in Market Value from FY18 to FY19 (Revised)". National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
2. "College Navigator - William Rainey Harper College".
3. "William Rainey Harper (1856-1906) - The University of Chicago Centennial Catalogues - The University of Chicago Library". www.lib.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
4. "North Cook Job Center". North Cook Job Center. 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
5. "Illinois Community College Board". iccb.org. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
6. "THE DYNASTY MAKER". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
7. "Harper wins DIII Men's XC National Championship". NJCAA. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
8. "2012 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships - info/results - 11/10/12". www.runnerspace.com. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
9. "2013 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships - info/results - 11/09/13". www.runnerspace.com. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
10. "2015 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships - info/results - 11/07/15". www.runnerspace.com. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
11. "2016 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships - info/results - 11/12/16". www.runnerspace.com. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
12. "2017 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships - info/results - 11/04/17". www.runnerspace.com. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
13. "2018 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships - info/results - 11/03/18". www.runnerspace.com. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
14. "2023 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships - info/results - 11/11/23". www.tfrrs.org/. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
15. "NJCAA Region IV". illinoisjuco.com. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
16. "Harper wins 2010 NJCAA Wrestling Championship - NJCAA - News - National". njcaa.org. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
17. "Harper College Athletics - Official Athletics Website". Harper College Athletics.
18. "Quincy Black Stats, News and Video - OLB". NFL.com. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
19. "Curtis Blaydes". 14 September 2018.
20. "Will Brooks Bio". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
21. Gire, Dann (7 March 2010). "'Avatar' cinematographer followed path from Palatine to Pandora". Dailyherald.com. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
22. "The Oscars 2015 - 87th Academy Awards". Oscar.com. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
23. "Jason Guida MMA Bio" . Retrieved 2014-01-01.
24. "Clay Guida UFC Bio". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
25. "A Profile of Charlie Kirk - The Dartmouth Review". 17 January 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-01-17.
26. "Featured Content on Myspace". Profile.myspace.com. Archived from the original on 2010-08-05. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
27. "Harper College: John Loprieno". goforward.harpercollege.edu. Archived from the original on November 27, 2008.
28. Daily Herald, May 2, 2006
29. Biography for Marlee Matlin at IMDb
30. "MarleeNet | Just another WordPress site". Marleematlinsite.com. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
31. "Project Vote Smart - The Voter's Self Defense System". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
32. "Harper College Student Among American Idols Top 13 Finalists". Palatine, IL Patch. 9 March 2011. Reinhart graduated from Wheeling High School and studied jazz at Harper College in Palatine.
33. "Mike Rio MMA Bio". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
34. The University of British Columbia. "University of British Columbia". Ubc.ca. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
35. The University of British Columbia. "Welcome - Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences at UBC's Okanagan campus". Ubc.ca. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
36. Klein, Jeff Z.; Austen, Ian (17 June 2011). "Hockey Hangover Turns Into Riot Embarrassment". The New York Times . Retrieved 2015-03-28.
37. "Online vigilantes can slow police investigations, UBC study on Stanley Cup riot concludes". Vancouversun.com. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2015.

External links

• Official website
• Harper College Athletics