PALATINE, IL – Illinois Governor Pat Quinn will deliver the Commencement address to Harper College graduates at 2 PM Sunday, May 23 on the College’s main campus in Palatine, IL. Governor Quinn is expected to speak to over 400 graduates about the critical role community colleges play in providing affordable access to higher education and training workers for 21st century jobs.
Enrollment at Illinois community colleges surged 8% during the spring semester to an all-time record headcount of 390,142 students. At Harper, enrollment was up more than 8%, with a record spring headcount of 16,878 students.
“We are pleased Governor Quinn has chosen to speak at Harper,” said Harper College President Dr. Ken Ender. “Community colleges are a key catalyst for job growth as workers look to us to enhance their skills or retrain for new careers in the wake of the economic downturn.”
Dr. Ender is presiding over his first Harper College commencement. Dr. Ender came to Harper in July of 2009 after serving as president of Cumberland County College in New Jersey. In his short time at Harper, Dr. Ender is already positioning the College to be a leader in the national student success movement, which includes creating new programs to increase student completion, forming new partnerships with local high schools, businesses and four-year universities, and increasing accountability and transparency in programs and operations.
In addition to Governor Quinn’s address, Harper’s commencement ceremony will also recognize the winners of the Motorola “Award for Excellence” scholarship. The award is given annually to a traditional and a non-traditional Harper student who exhibits exemplary achievement in academics, community service, leadership and extracurricular activities.
About Harper: Harper College is one of the nation’s premier community colleges and one of the largest, serving 40,000 students annually in Chicago’s northwest suburbs. Harper’s rigorous academic programs prepare students for rewarding careers and for transfer to four-year universities. Harper offers outstanding and affordable associate degree and certification programs, career programs, workforce training, professional development, continuing education classes and developmental education programs. For more information, visit www.harpercollege.edu or call 847.925.6000.