[1][2] The college is located in a Mies van der Rohe building on the campus of Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).

Mr. VanderCook was nationally known as a conductor, soloist, composer and teacher, and students came to him from all over the country for advanced training, coaching and preparations for professional careers.

Shortly after World War I, interest in school bands and orchestras and the need for trained teachers and directors for such organizations, created the demand for a special course of study to prepare for this work.

"Doc" taught vocal music at the Lewis Institute and directed choirs in some of the largest churches in the Chicago area.

The first class to complete the approved four-year course of study for the degree Bachelor of Music Education was graduated at the summer session of 1931.

Members of that class, all prominent teachers, were John H. Beckerman, Clarence F. Gates, Clifford P. Lillya, Hubert E. Nutt, William D. Revelli and Otto Uttke.

This building, located at 3209 S. Michigan Avenue, housed an auditorium, practice rooms, lounges, heating plant, storage, classrooms, offices and library.

VanderCook College moved onto the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1996, into a building designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

Notable alumni of the college include jazz bassist Richard Davis, drummer Kobie Watkins, music pedagogue Victor Zajek, composers Merle Isaac and William Owens, and renowned music educator Walter Dyett, who taught Gene Ammons, Nat King Cole, Bo Diddley, Dorothy Donegan, Von Freeman, Johnny Hartman, Dinah Washington, Redd Foxx, Red Holloway, and many more.

The corner detail of the VanderCook College building (3140) is notable for brick that rises higher at the base of the wall before the steel begins above.