DACC: Six decades of service

Danville Area Community College is a public, two-year community college. It was founded as an extension of the University of Illinois in 1946 but became Danville Junior College in 1949.

Today, DACC is an independent community college with its campus at 2000 E. Main St. in Danville, annually serving about 8,000 students in Vermilion County and parts of Edgar, Iroquois, Ford and Champaign counties.

The 75-acre campus on Danville's southeast side is housed in recently renovated turn-of-the-century brick buildings acquired from the U.S. Veterans Administration in 1965. Before then, the college was housed at Danville High School.

Other modern buildings – including the Mary Miller Center which houses the gymnasium, the Technology Center and the Child Development Center – were constructed around the original historic structures.

Lincoln Hall sits in the middle of campus and houses the student union, academic counseling office, career services and bookstore.

Lincoln was dedicated in 1998 and connects three of the original historic buildings that house the administration offices, financial aid office, DACC Foundation, Adult Education division and the admissions office.

The veterans hospital campus, called the Veterans Affairs Illiana Healthcare System, still sits south of the DACC campus and serves as a clinical site for students in the college's nursing program.

The college offers more than 1,500 courses for college transfer students and for students seeking occupational degrees and certificates, retraining, skills training and customized training. More than 100 courses are offered online. In addition to business, technology, computer, liberal arts, engineering, math and science courses and programs, the college recently expanded its nursing and health care programming, offering associate degrees in radiologic technology and health information technology.