[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 114 (Thursday, July 14, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H4974-H4975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         115TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICA'S FIRST COMMUNITY COLLEGE

  (Mr. HULTGREN asked and was given permission to address the House

[[Page H4975]]

for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the Nation's very first 
public community college, Joliet Junior College, on its 115th 
anniversary.
  Two Illinois community leaders, J. Stanley Brown and William Rainey 
Harper, founded the college in 1901 to provide high school graduates 
the fruits of higher education without forcing them to leave their 
communities. Over the next 20 years, JJC grew from 6 enrolled students 
to almost 100, and it later evolved its curriculum to include business, 
technological, and industrial education.
  With the end of the wars, JJC and other 2-year institutions served 
vital educational roles for veterans who were returning to their 
communities. Joliet Junior College inspired an entirely new model for 
higher education, one that suited the needs of both the Nation and its 
citizens, one that allowed both flexibility and quality, and one that 
continues to be urgently relevant today.
  Brown and Harper's vision of community-organized, community-focused 
education has since become a touchstone for millions of young American 
students. This year, the 14th District of Illinois honors Joliet Junior 
College for its pivotal role in the advancement of higher education in 
America.

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