During President Namuo’s State of the College Address, after highlighting some past successes (Crawford Honors College Program, new Wellness Center, etc.), he gives students and faculty members a look into the future of the next big initiatives that in upcoming years will be sweeping the college. Namuo begins explaining the new agenda, announcing that bachelor’s degrees will soon be available at Joliet Junior College. This expansion includes new bills introduced to allow JJC to offer bachelor’s degrees in high-demand fields, including a tuition cap (a limit on how much tuition can cost) and Governor Pritzker’s support.
“Offering bachelor’s degrees is something we aspire to do here at Joliet Junior College,” Namuo said. “I don’t know if you got the sense or not, but we’re a little obsessed with optimizing and maximizing our impact on the communities we serve.”
However, there has been no announcement of when these bachelor’s degrees will be offered or what majors they will include.
Next, he continues the conversation on the acquisition of 20 acres of land for a JJC campus in Grundy County. The main appeal of this campus is an abundance of job opportunities nearby for students in technical fields (primarily areas of study focused on energy) and those seeking internships.
“JJC will do more in Grundy County, and we look forward to what that more looks like,” Namuo said.
Namuo announced that he aspires to have students occupy the new Grundy campus in August of 2028, planning and bidding complete in March 2027, board construction bid approval in May 2027, and construction beginning in the summer of 2027.
The president also teased an entire college-wide brand update, complete with a new logo. This update will be launched in spring 2026, just a few months away.
JJC’s press release describes new branding as a “refreshed identity that will embrace JJC’s long history of innovation while clearly defining who JJC is and who it aims to be in the years ahead.”
So, while the majority of the address featured student and faculty successes, there are some “auspiciously audacious” new projects by Namuo coming up for JJC. We have yet to learn of the specifics of these new ventures, so stay tuned to see what’s next for bachelor’s degrees and new branding.
