Rockford University is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

. 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

Sill Hall, Main Hall, Adams Hall (l-r) (Rockford College, 1904)

Rockford Female Seminary was founded in 1847 as the sister college of

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and has ...

, 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 Anna Peck Sill (August 9, 1816 – June 18, 1889) was an American educator and the founder of Rockford Female Seminary (now Rockford University), a school for the Christian education of young women in Rockford, Illinois, as an adjunct to Beloit Co ...

served as principal for the first 35 years. 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 1955–1956 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. 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

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

Art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

Art History Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

Chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...

Biological Sciences Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

Business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

Modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

Classical Language A classical language is any language with an independent literary tradition and a large and ancient body of written literature. Classical languages are typically dead languages, or show a high degree of diglossia, as the spoken varieties of the ...

s *

Nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

Performing Arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

Physical Education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

Honor societies

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

- Scholastic *

Eta Sigma Phi Eta Sigma Phi () is a collegiate honor society for the study of Classics. It grew out of a local undergraduate classical club founded by a group of students in the Department of Greek at the University of Chicago in 1914. This organization late ...

Omicron Delta Epsilon Omicron Delta Epsilon ( or ODE) is an international honor society in the field of economics, formed from the merger of Omicron Delta Gamma and Omicron Chi Epsilon, in 1963. Its board of trustees includes well-known economists such as Robert Luc ...

* Phi Alpha Theta -

Phi Sigma Iota Phi Sigma Iota () is an honor society whose members are elected from among outstanding advanced (juniors and seniors) and graduate students of foreign languages and literatures including Classics, comparative literature, philology, bilingual edu ...

Foreign Language A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a given country, and that native speakers from that country must usually acquire through conscious learning - be this through language lessons at schoo ...

Pi Lambda Theta Pi Lambda Theta (ΠΛΘ) is one of three main education honor societies and professional associations for educators in the United States. Basic information Pi Lambda Theta is both an honor society and professional association for educators. As ...

Psi Chi Psi Chi () is a college student honor society in psychology with international outreach founded in 1929 at the University of Kansas in the United States. Psi Chi is one of the largest honor societies in the United States, with more than 1,150 cha ...

Sigma Beta Delta Sigma Beta Delta () is a scholastic honor society that recognizes academic achievement among students in the fields of business, management, and administration . History Sigma Beta Delta was founded by Beta Gamma Sigma on January 16, 1994, in La ...

Athletics

The Rockford University Regents are

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

members of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

. Teams compete independently or as members of the

Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC), formerly the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC), is a college athletic conference. It participates in the NCAA's Division III and began its first season in the fall of 2006. The NACC sponsors ...

. The university fields men's teams in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, cross country,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, and women's teams in basketball, cross country, soccer,

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, track and field, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. Their football team is the only team in

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

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 Dodgeball is a team sport in which players on two teams try to throw balls and hit opponents, while avoiding being hit themselves. The objective of each team is to eliminate all members of the opposing team by hitting them with thrown balls, cat ...

) are also available on campus.

Notable alumni

Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 May 21, 1935) was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, and author. She was an important leader in the history of social work and women's suffrage ...

, activist and social worker *

Ellen Gates Starr Ellen Gates Starr (March 19, 1859 – February 10, 1940) was an American social reformer and activist. With Jane Addams, she founded Chicago's Hull House, an adult education center, in 1889; the settlement house expanded to 13 buildings in ...

, activist and social reformer *

Julia Lathrop Julia Clifford Lathrop (June 29, 1858 – April 15, 1932) was an American social reformer in the area of education, social policy, and children's welfare. As director of the United States Children's Bureau from 1912 to 1922, she was the first wo ...

, social reformer * Ron Kowalke, American painter, printmaker, sculptor, and art educator * Sandy Cole, state representative in Illinois * Arthur A. Collins, radio engineer, researcher, entrepreneur *

Roger Cooper Roger M. Cooper (born November 8, 1944) is a Minnesota politician and a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from southwestern Minnesota. First elected in 1986 in the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Democratic-Farmer ...

, politician * Hind Rassam Culhane, professor *

Yvonne D'Arle Yvonne D'Arle (December 1, 1898 – March 25, 1977) was a French-born American soprano singer, born Eugenie Marguerite Patet. She sang with the Metropolitan Opera from 1921 to 1925. Early life Eugenie Marguerite Patet was born in Lyon, France, ...

, opera singer *

Jeannette Durno Jeannette Durno (July 12, 1876 – September 5, 1963) was a Canadian-born American pianist. Early life Jeannette St. John was born in Walkerton, Ontario, the daughter of William Brethour St. John and Margaret Legge St. John. She was adopted b ...

, pianist and music educator * Jeannette Howard Foster, important lesbian theme writer/researcher * Barbara Giolitto, politician *

Vivian Hickey Vivian Ellen (née Veach) Hickey (March 25, 1916 – April 28, 2016) was an American educator and politician. Born in Clayton, Illinois, Hickey received her bachelor's degree from Rockford University, in 1937 and her master's degree from the U ...

, educator/politician * Joyce Holmberg, educator/politician * Betty Ann Keegan, politician *

Doris Lee Doris Emrick Lee (February 1, 1905 – June 16, 1983) was an American painter known for her figurative painting and printmaking. She won the Logan Medal of the Arts from the Chicago Art Institute in 1935. She is known as one of the most successf ...

, artist * Helen Douglas Mankin, politician *

Catherine Waugh McCulloch Catharine Gouger Waugh McCulloch (June 4, 1862 – April 20, 1945) was an American lawyer, suffragist, and reformer. She actively lobbied for women's suffrage at the local, state, and national levels as a leader in the Illinois Equal Suffrage As ...

, suffragist *

Ellen Spencer Mussey Ellen Spencer Mussey (1850 - 1936) was a lawyer, educator, and pioneer in the field of women's rights to legal education. She was the daughter of Platt Rogers Spencer, a reformer and promoter of the Spencerian Method, the widely used form of ...

, pioneer in field of women's rights to education * Anna E. Nicholes, social reformer, civil servant, clubwoman *

Deb Patterson Deb Patterson (born August 30, 1957) is currently the director of player personnel and program analytics for the Washington State women's basketball team. Patterson is the former women's basketball program head coach at Kansas State. She was re ...

, women's basketball coach *

Mark Pedowitz Mark Pedowitz is the former chairman and CEO of The CW. He replaced Dawn Ostroff in 2011, who had been the Head of Entertainment since the network's inception in 2006. Pedowitz oversaw all aspects of The CW, including programming, sales, marketing ...

, television executive *

Belle L. Pettigrew Belle L. Pettigrew (April 8, 1839 – July 14, 1912) was an American educator and missionary of the long nineteenth century. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Anti-Saloon League. She served as head of the missiona ...

, educator, missionary * Roland Poska, artist * Barbara Santucci, children's author * Robin Schone, author * * Harriet G. R. Wright, member of the Colorado House of Representatives

References

External links

*
Rockford University athletics website
{{authority control Education in Rockford, Illinois Educational institutions established in 1847 Buildings and structures in Rockford, Illinois Tourist attractions in Rockford, Illinois Female seminaries in the United States 1847 establishments in Illinois Private universities and colleges in Illinois Former women's universities and colleges in the United States