Rockford University
Rockford University is a private university in Rockford, Illinois. It was founded in 1847 as Rockford Female Seminary and changed its name to Rockford College in 1892, and to Rockford University in 2013.
Former names | Rockford Female Seminary (1847–1892) Rockford College (1892–2013) |
---|---|
Motto | Decus et Veritas (Latin) |
Motto in English | Honor and Truth |
Type | Private liberal arts college |
Established | 1847 |
President | Eric W. Fulcomer |
Academic staff | 72 Full-Time Faculty |
Students | 1,298 |
Location | , , United States |
Campus | Suburban, 150 acres |
Colors | Purple and White |
Athletics | NCAA Division III – Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference |
Nickname | Regents |
Mascot | Reggie the Regent |
Website | www |
History
Rockford Female Seminary was founded in 1847. It was the sister college of Beloit College, which had been founded the year before. The seminary's initial campus was on the east side of the Rock River, south of downtown Rockford.
In 1890, the seminary's trustees voted to offer a full college curriculum, which led to the name changing to Rockford College in 1892.
Men were first granted admission to the university at the beginning of the 1955–56 school year. At about this time, the school requested that the City of Rockford close parts of a street adjoining the campus.
In January 2008, Dr. Robert L. Head was named the university's seventeenth president, effective July 2008.
On October 2, 2012, the board of trustees voted unanimously to rename the college as a university. The trustees did so because the institution has many different academic departments. On July 1, 2013, the institution officially became Rockford University.[1] In February 2016, Dr. Eric W. Fulcomer was named the university's eighteenth president, effective July 2016, and inaugurated on November 4, 2016.
Academics
The university offers approximately 80 majors, minors and concentrations, including the adult accelerated degree completion program for a B.S. in Management Studies. Through its Graduate Studies department, degree include the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), and a Master of Education (MEd).
The university is organized into three colleges:
- Arts and Humanities
- Science, Math, and Nursing
- Social Sciences, Commerce and Education
The university offers an Honors Program in Liberal Arts & Sciences. Also housed within the university are the Center for Nonprofit Excellence and the Center for Learning Strategies.
Departments
Athletics
The Rockford University Regents are Division III members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Teams compete independently or as members of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.,
The university fields men's teams in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, soccer, and track and field, and women's teams in basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball. Their football team is the only team in college football since 2000 to score 100 points in a single game, beating Trinity Bible, 105–0 in 2003.
Recreational and intramural club sports (including basketball and dodgeball) are also available on campus.
Notable alumni
- Jane Addams, activist and social worker
- Sandy Cole, state representative in Illinois
- Arthur A. Collins, radio engineer, researcher, entrepreneur
- Roger Cooper, politician
- Hind Rassam Culhane, professor
- Yvonne D'Arle, opera singer
- Jeannette Durno, pianist and music educator
- Jeannette Howard Foster, important lesbian theme writer/researcher
- Barbara Giolitto, politician
- Vivian Hickey, educator/politician
- Joyce Holmberg, educator/politician
- Betty Ann Keegan, politician
- Julia Lathrop, social reformer
- Doris Lee, artist
- Helen Douglas Mankin, politician
- Catherine Waugh McCulloch, suffragist
- Ellen Spencer Mussey, pioneer in field of women's rights to education
- Deb Patterson, women's basketball coach
- Mark Pedowitz, television executive
- Belle L. Pettigrew, educator, missionary
- Roland Poska, artist
- Barbara Santucci, children's author
- Robin Schone, author
- Ellen Gates Starr, activist and social reformer
- Harriet G. R. Wright, member of the Colorado House of Representatives
Further reading
- Weaks-Baxter, Mary, et al. We Are a College at War: Women Working for Victory in World War II (Southern Illinois University Press; 2010) studies the mobilization of students in support of the war effort.
References
- "Rockford College to become Rockford University". Archived from the original on 2012-10-30. Retrieved 2012-11-23.