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 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 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 & Sociology Art & Art History Biology Chemical & Biological Sciences Classics Computer Science Economics, Business & Accounting Education English History Mathematics Modern & Classical Languages Nursing Performing Arts Philosophy Physical Education Physics Political Science Psychology Honor societies 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 The Rockford University Regents are