Illinois Valley Community College’s Board of Trustees celebrated student achievement on Monday, March 16, as President Tracy Morris announced winners of two annual essay contests.

David Escobedo of La Salle won first place in IVCC’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Writing Contest, receiving $100. Danica Scoma of Utica placed second with $75, and Cooper Lamps of La Salle took third with $50. All three will be recognized at the Spring Academic Awards ceremony.

Lamps also won the Gandhi-King Peace Essay Contest, earning $100. His essay advances to state competition.

In her monthly report to the Board, Dr. Morris highlighted strong enrollment growth across Illinois community colleges. More than 294,000 students enrolled this spring, compared to 285,800 in Spring 2025 and 283,000 in Spring 2019 — marking the fourth consecutive year of growth and exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

IVCC also received a record number of scholarship applications. The Foundation received 665 applications, up from 570 last year.

In other action, the Board:

• Appointed Averil Miles as Director of Facilities, replacing retiring Scott Curley.
• Nominated four individuals for Illinois Community College Trustees Association awards: Dr. Jon Hubbell for Outstanding Full Time Faculty, M’Kenzee Smith for Outstanding Adjunct Faculty, student trustee Danica Scoma for the Gregg Chadwick Student Service Scholarship, and student/employee Megen Berg for the Lifelong Learning Award.
• Accepted a $3.5 million bid from Lite Construction, Inc., Montgomery, Illinois, for 2026 campus renovations, to be funded through Protection, Health and Safety funds, working cash bond issuance and fund balance reserves.
• Approved the purchase of 229 lab and staff computer systems from Lenovo for $287,145 as part of routine technology upgrades.
• Agreed to lease a 2026 E350 Turtle Top Van Terra XLT bus from Southern Bus and Mobility, Inc., Breese, Illinois, for 36 months at a total cost of $63,031. The vehicle replaces one of two shuttle buses used for athletics and student activities.