Almost 60 years ago – on Aug. 22, 1966 – seven people gathered in the basement of a courthouse annex in Geneva with the task of creating a community college.
What those founders were building looked very different from the Waubonsee Community College of today.
Certainly there’s been a world of change since the doors of WCC opened a year after that initial gathering – with 1,600 students attending classes in various community facilities. Now there are four campuses with 10,000 to 12,000 annual students ranging from teenagers through retirees, as well as a staff eager to position the college as a true community hub.
And Waubonsee leaders want to use this anniversary to reintroduce itself to the residents it was created to serve.
No longer content to “stay below the radar,” says WCC President Brian Knetl, the college’s mission is to “fully engage with the community,” not just for educational purposes but to expand connections that better serve all its citizens. For example, the college, which recently opened its own food pantry, hosted a meeting on campus where, for the first time, all local pantries came together to “talk about best practices” and to find ways of working in unison.
“We can do so much more when working with the community … to cooperate rather than duplicate services,” Knetl said.
That philosophy – to share best practices, identify gaps and work collaboratively – also extends to partnerships with local industries and manufacturers, as well as school districts and health providers, said the college’s president, who views WCC not just as a hub but as a “convener” to get the right people around the table, find where needs are going unmet and make sure valuable resources aren’t being duplicated.
It’s a vision that needs to be shared, says Waubonsee Community College Vice President of Community Engagement Clayton Muhammad, who for decades served in similar roles with East Aurora School District and more recently the city of Aurora.
What surprised him after taking on this new role at Waubonsee, he tells me, is how many people, including community leaders, were unaware of what was happening at the college. WCC is not just a place where classes happen but where connections are made that spill into the community, with businesses, internships, boards, employment and civic relationships.
“We were doing more than people realized,” Muhammad says, “but not doing a good enough job of telling those stories.”
Which is why this anniversary can be viewed as a “kind of reset,” he adds, with the college “not just celebrating its history but introducing Waubonsee to the people who think they already know it.”
For one thing, the competition has changed. Students have far more options for higher learning now. And the community itself has changed, Muhammad adds, with two-year colleges no longer viewed as a last choice but rather the best choice – not just for traditional students but for those changing careers, upgrading skills or even those taking classes for the fun of it.
And alumni are among the college’s best ambassadors for spreading that message, insists Emma Donatille, executive director of the WCC Foundation that has handed out nearly $440,000 in scholarships over the years.
“So many of our alumni are in the community. They are your neighbors who are now hiring students, serving on boards or running local businesses. And we are seeing more of them come out, with more opportunities to engage with each other and with others,” she says, using as one example a 69-year-old retiree who, after taking a computer-aided design software course, created all the wooden medals for WCC’s recent 5K and 10K Trail Run.
The evolution of Waubonsee, all three leaders insist, is reflective of the community itself. And it will be represented at the “Back to School-Back to Cool” anniversary celebration from 4-8 p.m. Aug. 22 at its Sugar Grove campus, promises Muhammad, with a diversity of music and food, as well as giveaways, classic car show and petting zoo.
The college isn’t just looking at where it is but also where it is going, says Kentl. In addition to “moving cautiously and strategically” with artificial intelligence because of how rapidly technology is changing, he predicts the “pent-up demand” for its automotive technology, HVAC, fire science and nursing programs “will continue to grow and expand” over the coming decades.
“We are supported by the community … we know the value we have,” Kentl says. “It is our obligation to serve.”
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