Parkland College  

2400 West Bradley Ave. 

Champaign, IL 61821 
 

540 Clover Court

Gibson City, Illinois 60936

Phone: 217/784-8540

Email: tmbennett@mchsi.com

Parkland College, located in East central Illinois, is a comprehensive two-year public institution of higher learning that offers associate degrees, certificates, continuing education opportunities, and specialized training to the residents of Illinois Community College District 505.   The Parkland College District encompasses more than 2,900 square miles, over 50 communities, more than 250,000 inhabitants, and over 20 public and private high schools in 12 counties: Champaign, Coles, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquois, Livingston, McLean, Moultrie, Piatt, and Vermilion.

East central Illinois is one of the most productive corn and soybean agricultural areas in the nation, and rural sparsely populated farming communities comprise much of District 505.  Champaign-Urbana, in Champaign County, is one of the largest urban areas in downstate Illinois, with a sound economic base that includes retailing, light manufacturing, high-technology research and development, health care, agriculture, and the University of Illinois.

In 1966, the first Parkland College Board of Trustees was elected: William W. Froom (chairman), D. Wayne Niewold, Charles M. Zipprodt, Douglas E. Hager, C.W. Barnes, Norma R. Weller, and John H. Mathews.

The college opened in September of 1967 in temporary facilities in downtown Champaign.  A new permanent campus was opened in 1973 on a 233-acre tract northwest of Champaign, located near I-57, I-72, and I-74.