Rockford University

Rockford University is a private American liberal arts college 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. The university is known as the alma mater of Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams, who was a member of the class of 1881.

History

Rockford University was founded in 1847 as Rockford Female Seminary. 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 take on university status. This was done to accurately reflect the fact that they have many different academic departments. On July 1, 2013, the institution officially became Rockford University.