About Us

The John A. Logan College district consists of one central campus and extension centers in the towns of DuQuoin and West Frankfort. Many courses in baccalaureate transfer, career education, continuing education and adult literacy are taught in high schools and public facilities throughout the five-county district. The College takes pride in providing high-quality, affordable education to its citizens. JALC is in very close proximity to a four-year educational institution, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIU-C). Please see a district map in the supplemental materials section at the end of this document. The College district serves the following high school districts in Illinois: Marion, Johnston City, Herrin, Crab Orchard, Carterville, Carbondale, Tri-Co, Elverado, Murphysboro, West Frankfort, and DuQuoin. The area has a long history of manufacturing and coal-mining. With closures of many mines and manufacturing plants, the College has successfully worked with state and local agencies to provide transition services and training programs to help these workers obtain degrees and training to obtain employment.

• Type of College: Public two-year comprehensive community college
• Founded: 1967                                                             
• Location: 700 Logan College Drive Carterville, Illinois 62918, 618-985-2828 or (800) 851-4720
• Extension Centers:
  • Alongi Du Quoin Extension Center, located at 72 Southtowne Shopping Center Du Quoin, IL. 62832, 618-542-9210
  • West Frankfort Extension Center, located at 19 West Frankfort Plaza West Frankfort, IL. 62896, 618-932-6639
  • SICCM – Southern Illinois Collegiate Common Market, located at 3213 S Park Avenue, Herrin, IL 62948, 618-942-6902.
• Academic Calendars:  Academic calendars are located on the MyJALC website, and a yearly calendar is printed in the catalog.
• College District: #530 Jackson, Williamson Counties; portions of Franklin, Perry and Randolph Counties
• Current Budget: $32,369,718 – Budgeted Operating Expenditures
• Annual Enrollment: Approximately 10,213 full and part-time students
• Tuition: In-district $145.00 per credit hour
• Library:
  • 47,856 physical collections
  • 33,596 number of books
  • 88 magazines and journals
  • 12,359 government documents
  • 673 DVD
  • 147 VHS
  • 3,992 Pro Quest Central E-Books
  • 70,475 EBSCO E-Book Collection
  • 50,000 + Cloud Library E-Books and Audio
  • 10,000 + miscellaneous E-Resources
  • Streaming Videos – 8 databases – over 20,000 titles.
  • Journals, Magazines, Newspaper Articles, Articles from books, Miscellaneous – 40+ databases including thousands of full text titles.
• Programs of Study:
  • Associate of Arts (AA)
  • Associate in Science (AS)
  • Associate in Fine Arts (AFA)
  • Associate in Engineering (AES)
  • Associate in General Studies (AGS)
  • Associate in Applied Science (33)
  • Certificates of Achievement (31)
  • View a comprehensive list of programs.
• In-district population: 143,000
• School Districts: 11 public, 2 private
• Current President: Kirk Overstreet, PhD – January, 2021 to present
• Past Presidents:
  • Dr. Nathan Ivey – 1968 to 1973
  • Dr. Thomas E. Deem – 1973 to 1974
  • Dr. Robert E. Tarvin – 1974 to 1982
  • Dr. Harold R. O’Neil – 1982 to 1989
  • Dr. Ray Hancock – 1989 to 2000
  • Dr. Robert L. Mees – 2000 to 2012
  • Dr. Mike Dreith – 2012 to 2015
  • Dr. Ron House – 2015 to 2020

History of John A. Logan College

John A. Logan College (JALC) is an open admission, comprehensive community college designed to provide high-quality, affordable educational opportunities to its citizens. The College owes its existence to the Illinois Public Community College Act of July 15, 1965 which provided legislation to create a junior college system in the state of Illinois. John A. Logan College district citizens approved the creation of the Junior College district in September, 1967.

The College is named in honor of John Alexander Logan, a prominent southern Illinoisan whose political career led from county clerk to U.S. Congressman. During the Civil War, Logan volunteered as a citizen soldier and fought in eight major campaigns and is considered one of the premier volunteer generals of the Civil War. After the war, Logan returned to Congress and he helped found Memorial Day as a national holiday. In 1871, and again in 1874, Logan was elected to the U.S. Senate and was James G. Blaines’ vice-presidential running mate. Throughout his political career, he was a strong advocate for public education. Logan drafted legislation that established normal schools, teachers’ institutes, and instruction in the industrial and mechanical arts.

Senator Logan’s speech in support of this public education legislation attracted attention throughout the country. His emphasis on planning for the future helped to refocus and rebuild the nation. The College motto, “To education must we look . . .,” is derived from the following excerpt:

“To education, therefore, must we look for all the elements of national strength, and the more generally it is diffused and the higher its grade, in like proportion will our national power be increased.”

(Congressional Record, March 16, 1882)