[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 14, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1604]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  COMMEMORATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF SOUTHEASTERN ILLINOIS COLLEGE

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                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 14, 2010

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Southeastern 
Illinois College in Harrisburg, Illinois, on the 50th Anniversary of 
this educational institution.
  Discussion and planning for a college began in 1959. At that time, 
the State of Illinois rejected the plans, but a review was granted. The 
Harrisburg High School Board of Trustees created an advisory committee 
to help found the college. On June 21, 1960, a public vote was taken 
and over 93 percent of the more than 2,500 voters were in favor of the 
college. In September 1960 the name Southeastern Illinois College was 
officially adopted.
  Instruction at the college began on September 11, 1961 with 314 
students enrolled. The classes were conducted in a wing of Harrisburg 
Township High School. In 1965 the Illinois Junior College Act passed, 
and Southeastern officially became a Class II Junior College. In 1967 a 
referendum to become a Class I college carried, and the district was 
expanded to included five counties.
  In 1968 the first Board of Trustees was elected and assumed 
governance of the college. The first President, Mr. Joe Deaton, was 
appointed. In 1976 the college was granted full accreditation by North 
Center Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Also that year, 
the permanent facilities, still in use today, were completed and 
occupied.
  Today, Southeastern Illinois College provides educational 
opportunities to a number of high school graduates and those returning 
to school in an ever expanding campus. I am please to congratulate this 
fine institution on 50 years of success. I look forward to the bright 
future in store for Southeastern Illinois College.

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