Rockford University

{{Short description|Private university in Rockford, Illinois, US}}

{{Infobox university

| name = Rockford University

| image = Rockford University seal.svg

| image_size = 150

| established = {{start date and age|1847}}

| former_names = Rockford Female Seminary (1847–1892)
Rockford College (1892–2013)

| type = Private university

| president = Patricia Lynott

| motto = Decus et Veritas (Latin)

| mottoeng = Honor and Truth

| city = Rockford, Illinois

| country = U.S.

| students = 1,181 (Fall 2022){{Cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Rockford+University&s=all&id=148405|title=College Navigator - Rockford University|website=nces.ed.gov}}

| faculty = 72 full-time faculty and 135 part-time

| campus = Suburban, {{cvt|150|acre}}

| campus_size = {{Convert|76|acre}}

| mascot = Reggie the Regent

| sports_nickname = Regents

| colors = {{color box|#502d7f}}{{color box|#ffffff}} Purple & white

| athletics_affiliations = NCAA Division III – Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

| website = {{URL|https://www.rockford.edu/| rockford.edu}}

| logo = Rockford University logo.svg

| logo_size = 200

}}

Rockford University is a private university in Rockford, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1847 as Rockford Female Seminary and changed its name to Rockford College in 1892, and to Rockford University in 2013.

History

=Beginning=

File:Rockford seminary c 1890 jubilee book.jpg

Rockford Female Seminary was founded in 1847 as 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. Anna Peck Sill served as principal for the first 35 years.{{Cite book |last=Church |first=Charles A. |title=History of Rockford and Winnebago County Illinois from the First Settlement in 1834 to the Civil War |publisher=W. P. Lamb Book and Job Printer |year=1900 |location=Rockford, Illinois |pages=287–295 |language=en}}

In 1890, the seminary's trustees voted to offer a full college curriculum, which led to the name changing to "Rockford College" in 1892. In 1896, Phebe Temperance Sutliff became the school's president, continuing in that role until 1901.{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Rossiter |last2=Brown |first2=John Howard |title=The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans ... |date=1904 |publisher=Biographical Society |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Ou4UAAAAYAAJ/page/n91 |page=91 |via=Internet Archive |access-date=28 August 2024 |language=en}} {{Source-attribution}}{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=John Howard |title=Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States |date=1903 |publisher=James H. Lamb Company |page=265 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8yVAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA265 |access-date=28 August 2024 |language=en}} {{Source-attribution}}

Men were first granted admission to the university at the beginning of the 1955–1956 school year. At about this time, the school requested that the City of Rockford close parts of a street adjoining the campus.

In 1984, Rockford College founded Regent's College in London, now Regent's University London.

=Rockford University=

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".{{cite web|title=Rockford College to become Rockford University|url=http://www.rockford.edu/news/104503/Rockford-College-Board-of-Trustees-commits-to-University-status.htm|access-date=2012-11-23|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030053532/http://www.rockford.edu/news/104503/Rockford-College-Board-of-Trustees-commits-to-University-status.htm|archive-date=2012-10-30}}

Patricia Lynott has served as the university's president since 2022.{{cite web |url=https://www.rockford.edu/about/leadership/president/ |title=President's Office Rockford University |publisher=Rockford University |date=2023 |accessdate=August 7, 2023}}

The University held a business summit June 29, 2023, that included presidents of the Rockford Hard Rock Casino and OSF St. Anthony Medical Center.{{Cite web |last=Myers |first=Sara |date=2023-06-27 |title=Rockford University Announces Inaugural Business Summit on June 29, 2023 |url=https://www.rockford.edu/rockford-university-announces-inaugural-business-summit-on-june-29-2023/ |access-date=2023-08-28 |website=Rockford University |language=en-US}}

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.

Athletics

File:Rockford athletics mark.png

The Rockford University Regents are Division III members of the NCAA. 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.

Notable alumni

Jane Addams, activist and social worker{{cite book |last1=Addams |first1=Jane |title=Twenty years at Hull House |date=1981 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=New York}}
Ellen Gates Starr, activist and social reformerDuran, J. (2014). Ellen Gates Starr and Julia Lathrop: Hull House and philosophy. The Pluralist, 9(1), 1–13.
Julia Lathrop, social reformer{{cite book |last1=Addams |first1=Jane |title=My friend Julia Lathrop |date=2004 |publisher=MacMillian |location=New York}}{{cite journal |last1=Stivers |first1=Camilla |title=Unfreezing the progressive era: The story of Julia Lathrop |journal=Administrative Theory & Praxis |date=2002 |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=537–554|doi=10.1080/10841806.2002.11029374 |s2cid=155708486 }}
Ron Kowalke, American painter, printmaker, sculptor, and art educator
Sandy Cole, state representative in Illinois
Arthur A. Collins, radio engineer, researcher, entrepreneur
Roger Cooper, politician
Hind Rassam Culhane, professor and journalist
Yvonne D'Arle, opera singer
Jeannette Durno, pianist and music educator
Jeannette Howard Foster, lesbian writer/researcher
Barbara Giolitto, politician
Vivian Hickey, educator/politician
Joyce Holmberg, educator/politician
Betty Ann Keegan, politician
Doris Lee, artist
Helen Douglas Mankin, politician
Catherine Waugh McCulloch, suffragist
Mildred Bessie Mitchell, psychologist
Ellen Spencer Mussey, pioneer in field of women's rights to education
Anna E. Nicholes, social reformer, civil servant, clubwoman
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
Harriet G. R. Wright, member of the Colorado House of Representatives
Dawn Gile, member of the Maryland Senate