Rock Valley College history

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.

Construction began on the main buildings in the fall of 1967, after voters approved a bond referendum which provided one-fourth of the construction funds, with the state providing the remainder of the funding.

In January 1969, Doctor Karl Jacobs became the second RVC President.

In 1970, the American Dental Association's Council of Education approved the RVC Dental Assisting Program.

The Educational Resource Center, Student Center, and the Physical Education Center opened during the fall semester, 1971.

In 1978, the college began offering college credit to high school students taking classes through the High School Connections program.

In 1981 the college purchased an unused school building, Bell School, which is used for many of the community education classes.

The first educational building constructed on campus since 1986, this new state-of-the-art facility includes multiple science labs, resource labs and fourteen classrooms and was also recently certified LEED gold.

The Tech Center opened in 1987, helping with a cooperative education agreement reached the previous year with Chrysler Motor Corporation that allowed workers to take technology courses that went toward job training for the Belvidere plant as well as college credit.

The Technology Center opened for classes in January, 1988 as the region was in the midst of a recession.

Under the leadership of President Roland J. Chapdelaine, installed as the third president of Rock Valley College in 1997, a facilities master plan was developed to guide the future growth of the campus.

The remodeled Bengt Sjostrom Theatre opened in 2003 and is a one-of-a-kind architectural marvel!

In 2009 the college completed a 16-month renovation of the Physical Education Center to better accommodate growing classes and students with disabilities.

The JCSM opened for classes in 2011.

In April, 2014, Mike Mastroianni was named the sixth president of Rock Valley College, following the retirement of Doctor Becherer after a decade of service.

In the fall of 2015, the college’s Aviation Career Education Center opened at the Chicago-Rockford International Airport.

In the fall of 2016, the college also opened its new RVC Downtown location in Rockford.

In July of 2020, Doctor Howard J. Spearman was named the eighth president of Rock Valley College, and its first African-American president in the college's history.