Dr. Lilburn Horton, Delta College’s longest-tenured president who held the office from 1987 to 1999, passed away on Nov. 8th. He was 90 years old.
Dr. Horton is the namesake for several buildings on campus, including the L.H. Horton Gallery, located in the Shima Building, as well as the Horton Administration Building. Horton is also widely remembered for opening the Hazel Hill Child Development Center under his tenure.
News of his passing was first reported to the campus community through a campus-wide press release.
According to the press statement released by Delta, Horton’s accomplishments during his tenure at Delta include “advancing educational opportunities for minority students” as well as “raising the quality of faculty and staff.”
Before Horton was superintendent/president at Delta College, he was president at another community college in Illinois called Kankakee Community College.
An obituary written by Dr. Horton’s family detailed his long career in higher education even before becoming Delta’s superintendent/president. While at Kankakee Community College, the obituary states, Horton helped revitalize key infrastructure on campus. He is also credited with developing a “comprehensive plan for landscaping and tree planting” utilizing native Illinois vegetation in an effort to beautify the campus.
Horton, or Burnie, as he was known to his loved ones, is also credited with fostering the arts during his tenure at Delta by acquiring artwork and advancing the development of the college’s art gallery. He is also credited with “restoring campus infrastructure” and “increasing state-of-the-art technology at Delta.
Horton is survived by his children, grand-children, a great-granddaughter, and two brothers.
In lieu of flowers or a funeral, Horton requested that donations be made to the Delta College Foundation or the student scholarship fund of the Kankakee Community College Foundation.