Empowering Lives.
Building Futures.
Strengthening Communities.
Black Hawk College began as Moline Community College in 1946, established in Moline High School to provide education for World War II veterans. Initially organized into divisions for university extension, career training, and adult education, it became Black Hawk College in 1961, the first county-wide junior college in Illinois. In 1965, with the passage of the Illinois Public Junior College Act, the college joined the state’s higher education system, offering liberal arts, occupational, and adult education courses.
The college expanded to southeastern communities in 1967, delivering instruction at the Kewanee National Guard Armory and Kewanee High School. In 1971, instruction moved to the current East Campus site. Black Hawk College East operated separately from the Quad-Cities Campus until 1989, when the Illinois Community College Board approved the unification of the campuses into one college with two locations. Today, each campus offers a full complement of courses and curricula.
Serving Illinois Community College District #503, a 2,200-square-mile area across nine counties, Black Hawk College operates several specialized facilities, including the Adult Learning Center in Rock Island, a Community Education Center and Welding and Skilled Trades Center in Kewanee, our Industrial Training Lab Extension Center in Moline, and an Outreach Center in East Moline.
Today, Black Hawk College serves more people than any other institution of higher education in the Quad-Cities region.
As a cornerstone of education and economic development, Black Hawk College empowers students, supports workforce needs, and strengthens the communities it serves. Black Hawk College continues to build a stronger, more vibrant future for the region by offering both career and transfer programs and a wide range of special-purpose and community outreach programs.
Visit the Black Hawk College Campus
6600 34th Avenue, Moline, Illinois 61265
