Morton College Celebrates Amazing Milestones and Achievements

As Morton College prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2024, it’s a great time to reflect on the school’s milestones and achievements over the past five years. The significant investment in facilities, programs, and services has helped Morton College become a nationally recognized leader in the community college sector of higher education, while offering one of the lowest tuition rates in IL for community colleges.

“Our accomplishments have been the result of exemplary vision, careful planning and implementation, and collaboration,” explained Blanca Jara, Vice President of Institutional Advancement for Morton College. “We’ve maintained financial stability that earned top marks from recent external audits, and we’ve developed multiple pathways for entry to the school, reducing barriers to enrollment and ensuring seamless student transitions. We’ve also created a learning and working environment that is welcoming, safe, and dynamic, that leads to improved student success and community engagement.”

Some of the more notable achievements include launching a new iOS Coding certificate and degree program; opening a $5 million classroom addition; expanding the dual and concurrent enrollment programs; hiring 35 new full-time faculty; and expanding programs and courses, including Associate in Engineering, Paralegal, Cannabis, and CDL programs. The Morton College Nursing program has been designated as an NLN Center of Excellence in Nursing Education for 2021-2025.

Capital improvement projects included a new 4,100 sq. ft. state-of-the-art Fitness Center that is free for the entire 527 district community, a planetarium, athletic sports fields, the JPAC Theater, and much more. Technology upgrades have included the redesign of the entire Morton College website and development of a mobile app.

“Morton College has been awarded multiple grants, including a $3.6 million grant to strengthen STEM programs,” said Jara. “We’ve also increased our students’ resources to include a Student Emergency Fund, a Free Laptop program, and the Panther Pantry. We’ve increased the number of Student Success Coaches, and we’ve increased athletic scholarships.”

For more information, please contact:

Morton College

3801 S. Central Avenue

Cicero, IL 60804

708-656-8000

www.morton.edu