Founded in 1847, Rockford University is an independent, coeducational, liberal arts institution located in Rockford, Ill., a city of 150,000 people about 85 miles northwest of Chicago. The University offers over 70 majors, minors and programs, a return-to-college program in management studies, masters programs in business and teaching, and several community education programs. Rockford University is one of only 11 institutions in Illinois with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter.
Our mission includes providing an education “grounded in liberal arts learning and complemented and extended by professional and practical experiences.” Our vision builds on the life and work of our distinguished alumna, Jane Addams, and many others in her tradition. Founder of Hull House in Chicago in the late 19th Century, Addams worked at the nexus of the major historical and intellectual currents of the day. In 1931 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. Our vision is to be “Jane Addams' college in the 21st century.”
