Rock Valley College (RVC) is a public community college in Rockford, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System. RVC's district comprises Winnebago County, Boone County, and parts of Stephenson County, Ogle County, McHenry County, and DeKalb County. Since opening for classes in 1965, RVC has grown to an institution of 140 faculty members, 500 part-time lecturers, and more than 7700 students. History Rock Valley College was founded in 1964 to allow students from the region in and around Rockford Public School District No. 205 the opportunity to receive post-secondary education similar to university curriculum. RVC's district comprises all of Winnebago and Boone County and parts of Stephenson, Ogle, McHenry and DeKalb counties. Authorized by the Illinois General Assembly and signed by Illinois Governor Otto Kerner, Jr. in 1961, legislation was enacted that created the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE). The IBHE was tasked by statute with formulating a Master Plan for Higher Education in the state of Illinois. In July 1964 the higher education master plan was published by the IBHE, which led to the Junior College Act of 1965. Soon thereafter, a district-wide referendum was approved that authorized the founding of RVC. It received accreditation via the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1971. In April 1965, Clifford G. Erickson was chosen by the first Board of Trustees to be the first President of Rock Valley College, and classes began on September 29, 1965, for 1,054 students. However, the main campus was not ready for classes. Instead, during the first year, classes were held in various locations throughout Rockford, including Harlem High School, the Rockford YWCA, the National Guard Armory, and the Naval Reserve Armory. By Fall 1966, classes moved to three small wooden buildings at the current main campus location . The buildings, referred to as "temp building" on campus, remained active in a variety of capacities for 37 years. In October 1967, the groundbreaking for six permanent buildings occurred. It took five years to complete Classrooms I and II, a Boiler House, Educational Resource Center (ERC), Student Center (SC) and the Physical Education Center (PEC). In 1968 the college began an aviation maintenance program at the Rockford Airport (now the Chicago Rockford International Airport) and an automotive service tech program in the neighboring town of Belvidere. Both programs are still active. In January 1969, Dr. Karl