Sept. 17, 1965: Rall Hall is named and the Chronicle makes fun of the rhyming name by imagining all of the rhyming conversations that would take place there, such as, “Hello, Norm. Whoops, wrong Dorm.”
1965: Wrestling, swimming, basketball and indoor track are the sports at North Central College.
1965: The swim team wins its 16th conference.
Fall 1965: Al Carius starts coaching at North Central on Oct. 1 with six runners. This is a pivotal point in Harrier history. “Carius is optimistic because he feels that all his charges are giving 100 percent,” Chronicle writer Jerry Hatton wrote at the time.” Carius’ running philosophy back then was that cross-country is about is about the runners and their personal goals.
Oct. 2, 1970: A student writes an editorial telling people to go to hell, and saying that reading “The Peanuts” is close to eternal damnation.
November 1970: Al Carius becomes the athletic director of North Central College. At this point, he has collected two CCIW championships for the college. He told the Chronicle, “One of our major problems at NCC is this negative attitude. We hope to let the students know that we have confidence in the athletic program and the school.”
Nov. 11, 1970: The current science center opens on Founders Day with an address from Stanford’s Dr. Paul Ehrlich, who wrote “The Population Bomb.” The book warns about the dangers of a population explosion.
May 30, 1975: Skip Meyer writes an opinion piece in the Chronicle about the energy crisis and how America needs an energy program. He points to rationing as a viable option, but reminds readers that President Gerald Ford will only let that happen “over his dead body.”
May 11, 1975: North Central College wins CCIW Track Conference.
Fall 1976: The academic center is added to the North Central College campus.
September 1980: John Madormo takes over as the director of broadcasting, bringing with him a new format at the school’s radio station, WONC, that features soft rock in the afternoons, top 40 in the evenings and progressively heavier music until midnight.
Nov. 7, 1980: Chronicle writer Mike Kontos explores how safe the college’s dorms are from fire.
November 1980: The cross-country team grabs a seventh straight CCIW title.
March 1985: The Graduate Studies Committee proposes the requirements for a graduate program.
September 1985: The Chronicle points out overcrowding in residence halls, and the college plans to build a new hall by Merner Field House. This hall becomes known as Patterson Hall and is completed in 1986.
November 1985: “Bitchin’ Bob White” is the Chronicle’s “Man of the Month.”
1988: The Rall Run tradition starts. Men clad in jogging suits, underwear, Halloween masks, ski-masks and more run, stomp and hoot through Rall Hall in the middle of the night during finals week.
April 1990: North Central College begins spending $30,000 annually on a front desk security system.
May 1990: North Central College gets a recycling program. “The general attitude of those working on the project is that students will not be punished if they demonstrate environmental responsibility by recycling beer cans,” Chronicle writer Elizabeth Avery says.
January 1995: Men’s basketball grabs its first conference win.
November 1995: North Central College introduces the Network Interface Card that allows students to be connected to the school’s network system. Students can purchase a card at the bookstore for $99.95.
November 1995: Both women’s and men’s cross-country win conference titles. Carius comments on the men’s 22nd consecutive conference win, saying, “Generally speaking, individually, we have had great growth. As a team, we have had great growth. Week to week, we have had strong momentum behind that growth.”
February 2000: The Chronicle wins 14 ICPA awards.
September 2000: A temporary skate park is erected in Naperville, which gets 120 visitors daily as skateboarding approaches a peak in popularity. With skateboards being banned on public walkways at the time, the park represents a safe haven. In its first month, the park receives approximately 3,000 visitors.
October 2000: Professors Jack Schindler and Joceyln Shadforth offer an English course on conspiracy theories. The course looks at literature on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and students research a particular conspiracy theory of their choice.
2005: North Central College gains a roller hockey team. The team plays every Sunday at a facility in Arlington Heights, Ill.
February 2005: Former Sen. Barack Obama visits North Central College. He talks about how problems will not be solved if left to politicians. Regarding school funding, Obama accuses President Bush of leaving money behind in his No Child Left Behind Act.
March 2005: North Central College spends $250,000 on a new website, noctrl.edu.
January 2010: Dr. Cornel West speaks at North Central College for MLK week.
April 2010: Men’s track and field wins the national championship.
September 2010: Marks the 150-year anniversary of the school.
Fall 2015: North Central College’s newest hall is completed and dubbed “New Hall”
Fall 2015: Groundwork begins on the new science center
Fall 2015: Dr. Abiodun “GP” Goke-Pariola steps in as the new dean of faculty after the retirement of previous dean, Dr. R. Devadoss Pandian.
