Harper College Explained

Harper College
Native Name:	William Rainey Harper College
Endowment:	$25.4 million (2019)^[1]
President:	Avis Proctor
Faculty:	201 full-time and 437 part-time^[2]
Administrative Staff:	810 full and part-time
Students:	13,477
Country:	United States
Campus:	Urban
Colors:	Blue and Silver
Mascot:	Hawk

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 has a 2001NaN1 campus, approximately 25miles 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, 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.^[29]
• Rosemary Mulligan, Illinois state legislator, class of 1982^[30]
• Steve Octavien, linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys
• Haley Reinhart, singer-songwriter and actress^[31]
• Mike Rio, junior college national wrestling champion at 149 lbs; current MMA fighter; formerly for the Ultimate Fighting Championship^[32]
• Christopher J. Schneider, professor of sociology at Wilfrid Laurier University.^{[33] [34] [35] [36]}
• Rob Sherman (1953–2016), political activist, perennial candidate, and businessman

External links

• • Harper College Athletics

Notes and References

1. As of June 30, 2019. Web site: 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 . September 26, 2020.
2. Web site: College Navigator - William Rainey Harper College.
3. Web site: William Rainey Harper (1856-1906) - The University of Chicago Centennial Catalogues - The University of Chicago Library . 2023-03-16 . www.lib.uchicago.edu.
4. Web site: North Cook Job Center . North Cook Job Center . 2022-03-03 . 2022-06-17.
5. Web site: Illinois Community College Board. iccb.org. 12 March 2015.
6. Web site: THE DYNASTY MAKER . 2023-03-16 . Chicago Tribune.
7. Web site: Harper wins DIII Men's XC National Championship . NJCAA . 19 December 2018 . en . 6 November 2011.
8. Web site: 2012 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships - info/results - 11/10/12 . www.runnerspace.com . 19 December 2018.
9. Web site: 2013 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships - info/results - 11/09/13 . www.runnerspace.com . 19 December 2018.
10. Web site: 2015 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships - info/results - 11/07/15 . www.runnerspace.com . 19 December 2018.
11. Web site: 2016 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships - info/results - 11/12/16 . www.runnerspace.com . 19 December 2018.
12. Web site: 2017 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships - info/results - 11/04/17 . www.runnerspace.com . 19 December 2018.
13. Web site: 2018 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships - info/results - 11/03/18 . www.runnerspace.com . 19 December 2018.
14. Web site: 2023 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships - info/results - 11/11/23 . www.tfrrs.org/ . 28 November 2023.
15. Web site: NJCAA Region IV. illinoisjuco.com. 12 March 2015.
16. Web site: Harper wins 2010 NJCAA Wrestling Championship - NJCAA - News - National. njcaa.org. 12 March 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402130006/http://www.njcaa.org/newsArticle.cfm?articleId=10604. 2 April 2015.
17. Web site: Harper College Athletics - Official Athletics Website. Harper College Athletics.
18. Web site: Quincy Black Stats, News and Video - OLB . 2023-03-16 . NFL.com . en-US.
19. Web site: Curtis Blaydes. 14 September 2018.
20. Web site: Will Brooks Bio. Bleacher Report. July 17, 2014.
21. Web site: Gire . Dann . 'Avatar' cinematographer followed path from Palatine to Pandora . 7 March 2010 . Dailyherald.com . 2015-03-28.
22. Web site: The Oscars 2015 - 87th Academy Awards. Oscar.com. 12 March 2015.
23. Web site: Jason Guida MMA Bio. 2014-01-01.
24. Web site: Clay Guida UFC Bio. Sherdog.com. 2014-01-01.
25. Web site: A Profile of Charlie Kirk - The Dartmouth Review . 17 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200117075805/http://dartreview.com/a-profile-of-charlie-kirk/ . 2020-01-17 .
26. Web site: Featured Content on Myspace . Profile.myspace.com . 2015-03-28 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100805013605/http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile . 2010-08-05 .
27. Web site: Harper College: John Loprieno. goforward.harpercollege.edu . https://web.archive.org/web/20081127072430/http://goforward.harpercollege.edu/page.cfm?p=3811 . November 27, 2008.
28. Daily Herald, May 2, 2006
29. Web site: MarleeNet | Just another WordPress site . Marleematlinsite.com . 2015-03-28.
30. Web site: Project Vote Smart - The Voter's Self Defense System. Project Vote Smart. 12 March 2015.
31. Web site: Harper College Student Among American Idols Top 13 Finalists . Palatine, IL Patch . en . 9 March 2011 . Reinhart graduated from Wheeling High School and studied jazz at Harper College in Palatine..
32. Web site: Mike Rio MMA Bio. Sherdog.com. 2014-01-01.
33. Web site: University of British Columbia. The University of British Columbia. Ubc.ca. 12 March 2015.
34. Web site: Welcome - Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences at UBC's Okanagan campus. The University of British Columbia. Ubc.ca. 12 March 2015.
35. News: Hockey Hangover Turns Into Riot Embarrassment . . 17 June 2011 . 2015-03-28. Klein . Jeff Z. . Austen . Ian .
36. Web site: Online vigilantes can slow police investigations, UBC study on Stanley Cup riot concludes. Vancouversun.com. 12 March 2015. 23 December 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121223150651/http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Online+vigilantes+slow+police+investigations+report+Stanley/7478872/story.html. dead.