ICCTA Distinguished Alumnus Award

2009 Recipient
Dr. Dennis G. Hall
Vice provost for research / Dean of the Graduate School
Vanderbilt University
Southwestern Illinois College (1968)


Dr. Dennis G. Hall is an internationally respected educator, administrator, and scientist. He holds three patents and has written more than 150 scholarly papers. His research on optical physics has been cited in scientific journals more than 2,500 times.

He also oversees 52 doctoral programs at one of America's major research universities.


Dr. Dennis G. Hall (center) accepts ICCTA's 2009 Distinguished Alumnus Award from Illinois Community College Board chair Guy Alongi (left) and ICCTA president Jeff May.
Dr. Dennis G. Hall (center) accepts ICCTA's 2009
Distinguished Alumnus Award from Illinois Community College Board chair Guy Alongi and ICCTA president Jeff May.

But Dr. Hall is most proud of his humble roots in Metro-East Illinois. As the son of parents who did not finish high school, he looked to his local community college for guidance in pursuing higher education.

"Just as two points on a graph define a straight line, so, too, did two experiences with community-college education define the trajectory of my career," he recalls.

"The first was as a student at Belleville Area College (now Southwestern Illinois College) from 1966 to 1968. The second was as an instructor at BAC during the fall semester, 1971.

"It was BAC that first introduced me to higher education and then later introduced me to my calling," says Dr. Hall.