Rockford University

Private university in Rockford, Illinois, US

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Rockford University

Former names

| Rockford Female Seminary (1847–1892)
Rockford College (1892–2013)
Motto| Decus et Veritas (Latin)

Motto in English

| Honor and Truth
Type| Private university
Established| 1847; 176 years ago (1847)
President| Patricia Lynott

Academic staff

| 72 full-time faculty and 135 part-time[1]
Students| 1,181 (Fall 2022)[1]
Location|

Rockford, Illinois

U.S.

Campus| Suburban, 150 acres (61 ha), 76 acres (31 ha)
Colors|  Purple & white
Nickname| Regents

Sporting affiliations

| NCAA Division III – Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
Mascot| Reggie the Regent
Website| www.rockford.edu

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.

## History[edit]

Rockford Seminary (ca. 1890) 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, 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.

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

In January 2008, 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.[2] In 2016, Eric W. Fulcomer became the university's eighteenth president.

Patricia Lynott currently serves as the university's president following Fulcomer's 2022 departure.[3]

The University held a business summit June 29, 2023, that included presidents of the Rockford Hard Rock Casino and OSF St. Anthony Medical Center.[4]

## Academics[edit]

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.

### Honor societies[edit]

* Phi Beta Kappa \- Scholastic
* Eta Sigma Phi \- Classics
* Omicron Delta Epsilon \- Economics
* Phi Alpha Theta \- History
* Phi Sigma Iota \- Foreign Language
* Pi Lambda Theta \- Education
* Psi Chi \- Psychology
* Sigma Beta Delta \- Business

## Athletics[edit]

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. 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[edit]

* Jane Addams, activist and social worker[5]
* Ellen Gates Starr, activist and social reformer[6]
* Julia Lathrop, social reformer[7][8]
* 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
* 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
* Doris Lee, artist
* Helen Douglas Mankin, politician
* Catherine Waugh McCulloch, suffragist
* 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

## See also[edit]

* Illinois portal

* Female seminaries
* Women in education in the United States

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "College Navigator - Rockford University". nces.ed.gov.
2. ^ "Rockford College to become Rockford University". Archived from the original on 2012-10-30. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
3. ^ "President's Office Rockford University". Rockford University. 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
4. ^ Myers, Sara (2023-06-27). "Rockford University Announces Inaugural Business Summit on June 29, 2023". Rockford University. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
5. ^ Addams, Jane (1981). Twenty years at Hull House. New York: Penguin Books.
6. ^ Duran, J. (2014). Ellen Gates Starr and Julia Lathrop: Hull House and philosophy. The Pluralist, 9(1), 1-13.
7. ^ Addams, Jane (2004). My friend Julia Lathrop. New York: MacMillian.
8. ^ Stivers, Camilla (2002). "Unfreezing the progressive era: The story of Julia Lathrop". Administrative Theory & Praxis. 24 (3): 537–554. doi:10.1080/10841806.2002.11029374. S2CID 155708486.

## Further reading[edit]

* 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.
* Nelson, Hal, et al. Rockford College: A Retrospective Look (Rockford College, Rockford, IL; 1980).

## External links[edit]

* Official website
* Rockford University athletics website

* v
* t
* e

Rockford, Illinois

Education|

| Public schools|

* Rockford Public School District 205
* Auburn High School
* Guilford High School
* Thomas Jefferson High School
* Rockford East High School

|

Private schools|

* Boylan Catholic High School
* Christian Life High School
* Keith Country Day School
* Rockford Christian High School
* Rockford Lutheran High School
* Rockford Iqra School
* Spectrum Progressive School of Rockford

Colleges and universities|

* Rockford University
* Rock Valley College
* University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine Rockford

Landmarks|

* Chicago Rockford International Airport
* Anderson Japanese Gardens
* BMO Harris Bank Center
* Burpee Museum of Natural History
* Coronado Theatre
* Klehm Arboretum and Botanic Garden
* Kenneth and Phyllis Laurent House
* Memorial Hall
* Bengt Sjostrom Theatre
* Tinker Swiss Cottage

Media|

| Print|

* Rockford Register Star
* Rock River Times

|

Television|

* WREX
* WTVO
* WIFR-LD
* WQRF-TV

This list is incomplete.

* v
* t
* e

Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

Full members|

* Alverno Inferno
* Aurora Spartans
* Benedictine Eagles
* Concordia (Chicago) Cougars
* Concordia (WI) Falcons
* Dominican Stars
* Edgewood Eagles
* Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks
* Lakeland (WI) Muskies
* Marian (WI) Sabres
* MSOE Raiders
* Rockford Regents
* St. Norbert Green Knights
* Wisconsin Lutheran Warriors

Associate members|

* Eureka Red Devils (football)
* Mount Mary Blue Angels (women's cross country)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Israel
* United States

42°16′02″N 89°01′05″W﻿ / ﻿42.26734°N 89.01810°W﻿ / 42.26734; -89.01810
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