Triton College

Triton College

Type	Publiccommunity college
Established	1964; 60 years ago(1964)
President	Mary-Rita Moore
Students	10,931[1]
Location	River Grove , Illinois , U.S. 41°54′55″N87°50′35″W / 41.91528°N 87.84306°W /41.91528; -87.84306
Campus	Urban
Nickname	Trojans
Sporting affiliations	NJCAA–N4C
Website	www.triton.edu

Triton Collegeis apubliccommunity collegeinRiver Grove, Illinois.

Junior College District 300 was voted into existence in areferendumin March 1964. In March 1965, a second referendum was passed approving the purchase of an 86 acres (34.8 ha) campus site at Fifth Avenue and Palmer Street inRiver Grove. The school was named Triton College in recognition of the three high school districts that it encompassed –Elmwood Park,Leyden, andProviso Township. Triton College opened in September 1965 and held classes at several of the high schools in its district. About 1,200 students were enrolled, and full-time in-district tuition was US$5 per semester hour.

Construction on the permanent campus began in June 1967 with the Technology building and proceeded in phases. With the opening of the Learning Resource Center in 1974, the original campus plan was essentially complete, except for some athletic facilities and the Performing Arts Center, a large auditorium planned for the area now occupied by the soccer field, but never built. The original Cernan Space Center building, located north of the Learning Resource Center, was plagued by latent construction defects, and, after being used for several years, was demolished and replaced by the present building located nearby.

In 1972, another referendum was passed addingOak Park and River Forest,Riverside Brookfield, andRidgewood high schooldistricts to the original three, forming Community College District 504. This district was expanded to its current size in 1974 by the addition of Rosemont and Pennoyer school districts. By 1975, enrollment had grown to nearly 20,000, in-district tuition had increased to US$11 per semester hour, and Triton had become the largest single-campus community college in Illinois. The campus was expanded by the acquisition of the North Avenue Drive-In theater, which closed in 1973. This area, designated the "East Campus" and located across Fifth Avenue from the original ("West") campus, was cleared and used mainly for the construction of athletic facilities, as well as a small auditorium as part of the Collins Center.

Triton College sits on a 110-acre (45 ha) campus that features electronic classrooms, labs, sports facilities, a library and bookstore, an art gallery and performing arts center, botanical gardens and greenhouses, culinary arts program restaurant and bistro, and theCernan Earth and Space Center, which is a publicplanetarium. Recent renovations include the Health Sciences Building, The Student Center Building, and Symonds-Puckett field.^[2]

The campus is also the home of Triton Troupers Circus.

Triton College facilitates accredited Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Associate of Fine Arts, and Associate of Applied Science for transfer and career. The institution also offers English as a second language (ESL) and GED classes. Triton College is a member of the Illinois Articulation Initiative and has transfer agreements with universities across the state, such as theUniversity of Illinois. In addition, students can earn bachelor's degrees on Triton's campus fromSouthern Illinois University,Dominican University,Benedictine University, and others through the University Center. The college also offers the academically rigorous Scholars Program for high achieving incoming freshman.

In 2016,Payscale.comranked Triton College the top two-year college in Illinois and among the top in the United States according to salaries of its graduates.^[3][4]

Triton College boasts a diverse majority-minority student body with sizable populations of Hispanic/Latino, white, African American, and Asian students. The college is also a Hispanic-serving institution.^[5]About 75% of students are from the inner ring Chicago suburbs, while residents of Chicago and other cities, states, and countries make up the remaining 25%.^[6]

Triton students participate in Model UN, Triton Student Association, and many clubs on a variety of interests.^[7]Students also participate in theTritonysiaplay festival, write and edit theFifth Avenue Journal, and other artistic endeavors.

Triton competes in NJCAA and is a member of the North Central Community College Conference (N4C). The school mascot is the Trojans. The Men's Basketball team won the N4C conference in 1979–80, 1980–81, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1990-91 1996–97, 2001–02, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, and 2016–17. In addition, they competed in the 1985–86, 1996–97, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2010–11, and 2015–16, and 2016-2017 NJCAA tournaments.^[8]

The Trojans Men's Baseball Team competed in the NJCAA World Series in 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 2000.^[9]Former Triton baseball players include MLB Hall of FamerKirby Puckett.

WRRG 88.9 FM is the student radio station of Triton College.^[10][11]It began broadcasting on March 10, 1975.^[12]

• Paul Martinez Pompa, poet
• Arnie Bernstein, writer and historian

• Baseball Hall of FamerKirby Puckett
• Fred Hampton, African-American activist and chairman of the Illinois chapter of theBlack Panther Party
• Chicago White SoxandChicago CubsoutfielderLance Johnson
• Chicago CubspitcherTom Gorzelanny.
• ComedianKathy Griffin
• Jarvis Brown, formerMajor League Baseballoutfielder who played for theMinnesota Twins,San Diego Padres,Atlanta Braves, andBaltimore Orioles, won theWorld Serieswith the Twins.^[13]
• GAWNE, rapper, singer, and songwriter
• Olympic wrestler Michael Foy
• Olympic wrestler Derrick Waldroup.
• NFL playerSteve Parker.
• Derek Mitchell, shortstop for Baseball Team USA in 1995.
• Illinois state legislatorLinda Williamson
• Illinois state legislatorGreg Zito.^[14]
• Musician and Grammy Award winnerRandy Waldman
• Colorado Music Hall of Fameinductee Lannie Garrett
• Comedian and actorCorey Holcomb^[15]

• Official website