ECC to name street in honor of longtime trustee Duffy
Elgin Community College will next Friday give tribute to an individual who has spent more than three decades helping the school carve out its own distinct path.
At an 8 a.m. ceremony, college President David Sam, members of the board of trustees and several Elgin city officials will open Duffy Drive, an extension of Spartan Drive built to intersect with College Green Drive on the southwest corner of ECC's campus.
The road will be named after senior trustee John Duffy, who has served ECC for 33 years - longer than any board member in Community College District 509 history.
After receiving a petition from ECC, the city of Elgin July 23 passed a resolution permanently naming the extension Duffy Drive.
Duffy Drive's completion is the last phase of the Spartan Drive extension project, a 20-plus year plan which will connect McLean Boulevard with Randall Road.
"Prior to this, students had to drive down Randall Road to College Green Drive and then wind back around (campus)," board chair Phyllis Folarin said. "Now it's real close, and takes your right out on McLean Boulevard."
According to the city's Web site, the project cost $4.6 million.
Last November, after the state withdrew its offer to pay for ECC's portion of the road, college officials voted to absorb half of the project cost.
"I'm somewhere between honored and overwhelmed," Duffy said of the dedication.
Duffy, of Elgin, joined the board in 1975, and has served as both vice chair and chair numerous times.
As a former head of the building and grounds committee, Duffy oversaw much of the Spartan Drive extension project.
He was also elected twice to both the Association of Community College Trustees and the American Association of Community Colleges boards of directors.
Duffy's term expires in 2011 - exactly when, he says, he'll begin weighing the idea of retirement. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," he said.
"I promised my wife I'd be done in 1999, and again in 2005," he said.
"Of the 50 years we've been married, she's dealt with ECC for most of them," he laughed. "But, it's been a rewarding journey."