Bradley University

Coordinates: 40°41′40.1″N 89°36′44.1″W / 40.694472°N 89.612250°W / 40.694472; -89.612250
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40°41′40.1″N 89°36′44.1″W / 40.694472°N 89.612250°W / 40.694472; -89.612250

Bradley University
File:BUseal.jpg
Typeprivate, coeducational
Established1897
Endowment$198.5 million[1]
PresidentJoanne K. Glasser
ProvostDavid Glassman
Academic staff
389
Undergraduates5,301
Postgraduates800
Location
Peoria
,
Illinois
,
USA
Campusurban, 85 acres (340,000 m2)
Colorsred & white    
NicknameBraves
Websitehttp://www.bradley.edu

Bradley University, founded in 1897, is a private, co-educational university located in Peoria, Illinois. It is a medium-sized institution with an enrollment of approximately 6,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students and a full-time faculty of approximately 350.[2]

History

Bradley Hall is one of the first buildings constructed for the university and bears the name of the university's founder.

The Bradley Polytechnic Institute was founded by philanthropist Lydia Moss Bradley in 1897 in memory of her husband Tobias and their six children, all of whom died early and suddenly, making Bradley a childless widow. The Bradleys had discussed establishing an orphanage in memory of their deceased children. After some study and travel to various institutions, Mrs. Bradley decided instead to found a school where young people could learn how to do practical things to prepare them for living in the modern world. As a first step toward her goal, in 1892 she purchased a controlling interest in Parsons Horological School in LaPorte, Indiana, the first school for watchmakers in America, and moved it to Peoria. She specified in her will that the school should be expanded after her death to include a classical education as well as industrial arts and home economics: "...it being the first object of this Institution to furnish its students with the means of living an independent, industrious and useful life by the aid of a practical knowledge of the useful arts and sciences."

In October 1896 Mrs. Bradley was introduced to Dr. William Rainey Harper, president of the University of Chicago. He soon convinced her to move ahead with her plans and establish the school during her lifetime. Bradley Polytechnic Institute was chartered on November 13, 1896. Mrs. Bradley provided 17.5 acres (71,000 m2) of land, $170,000 for buildings, equipment, and a library, and $30,000 per year for operating expenses.

Contracts for Bradley Hall and Horology Hall (now Westlake) were awarded in April and work moved ahead quickly. Fourteen faculty and 150 students began classes in Bradley Hall on October 4—with 500 workers still hammering away. (The Horological Department added another eight faculty and 70 students.) Bradley Polytechnic Institute was formally dedicated on October 8, 1897. Its first graduate, in June 1898, was Cora Unland.

Originally, the institute was organized as a four-year academy as well as a two-year college. There was only one other high school in the city of Peoria at the time. By 1899 the institute had expanded to accommodate nearly 500 pupils, and study fields included biology, chemistry, food work, sewing, English, German, French, Latin, Greek, history, manual arts, drawing, mathematics, and physics. By 1920 the institute dropped the academy orientation and adopted a four-year collegial program. Enrollment continued to grow over the coming decades and the name Bradley University was adopted in 1946.[3]

Academics

Baker Hall, named after Murray M. Baker, is home to the Foster College of Business Administration

Bradley University was recently ranked 6th among Midwestern comprehensive masters-degree-granting universities in the 2011 edition of America's Best Colleges published by U.S. News & World Report.

The Bradley University Department of Teacher Education and College of Education and Health Sciences is NCATE-approved.[4] Additionally, of the nation’s 3,623 colleges and universities, Bradley University's Foster College of Business Administration is one of only 160 schools whose business and accounting programs are both accredited by AACSB International.

Bradley University is organized into the following colleges and schools:

Undergraduate school

  • College of Education and Health Sciences
  • Caterpillar College of Engineering and Technology
  • College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • Foster College of Business Administration
  • Slane College of Communications and Fine Arts
  • Academic Exploration Program (AEP), for students without a declared major

Graduate school

Through its Graduate School, Bradley University offers Masters level graduate degrees in 5 of its departments: business, communication and fine arts, education and health sciences, engineering, and liberal arts and sciences. Each has its own hourly requirements and varies in completion time. The program of physical therapy provides a Doctor of Physical therapy degree.

Campus

Seen here from bottom left to bottom right are Wyckoff, Heitz, and Elmwood Halls, with Harper and Geisert (also from left to right) dominating the background.

Bradley's 85-acre (340,000 m2) campus is located on Peoria's west bluff and is minutes from the city's downtown. The campus of Bradley University is relatively compact. There are few places on campus which cannot be reached from any other part of campus in under ten minutes on foot. Bradley's student housing is concentrated on the campus's east side, and the residence halls include: College (all women's), Geisert, Harper, Heitz, University, Williams, and Wyckoff Halls. There is also a complex of singles dormitories and two university-owned apartment complexes: St. James Apartments and the Student Apartment Complex.[5]

Also located on the south side of Bradley's campus is Dingeldine Music Center, which was acquired from the Second Church of Christ, Scientist in 1983. The Center serves as the main performance and practice facility for Bradley's instrumental and choral programs.

The Dingeldine Music Center

Bradley University is also the site of Peoria's National Public Radio affiliate, WCBU-FM, located on the second floor of Jobst Hall.

Athletics

Bradley University is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. Conference-approved sports at Bradley for men are baseball, basketball, cross country running, golf, outdoor track, soccer, and tennis. Women's' sports consist of basketball, cross country running, golf, indoor and outdoor track, softball, tennis, and volleyball. The men's basketball team has appeared eight times in the NCAA Tournament: 1950, 1954, 1955, 1980, 1986, 1988, 1996, and 2006. In 1950 and 1954 they were national runners up in the Final Four, and in 2006 the Braves made their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 1955, defeating 4th seed Kansas and 5th seed Pittsburgh. However, Bradley's run came to an end in the Sweet Sixteen with a loss to the University of Memphis. Bradley also won the National Invitation Tournament in 1957, 1960, 1964, and 1982. In 2008, the men's basketball team was selected to participate in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational. They reached the Championship game but lost to Tulsa 2-1 in a 3 game series.

In 2006, the Bradley soccer team lost in the MVC Championship. In 2007, the Bradley soccer team returned to the MVC Championship and defeated Creighton 1-0 to claim their first MVC Tournament Championship and fourth appearance in the NCAA postseason soccer tournament. They had never won a game in the NCAA tournament. Following their first ever NCAA tournament game victory over DePaul 2-0, the Braves continued on a magical run to the Elite Eight by defeating seven-time national champion Indiana University on penalty kicks (5–4) and the University of Maryland in overtime, both on the road. During the Maryland game they were down 2–0 with less than three minutes left and won. The match has been referred to as "The Miracle in Maryland." Bradley’s coach, Jim DeRose, was named the national Coach of the Year by Soccer America after their great season.

The university does not have a football team. The football program was disbanded in 1970.

Bradley University was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1910–1937.

Bowl games

Season Bowl Champion Runner-up
1956 Corn Bowl Western Illinois 21 Bradley 3
1959 Corn Bowl Bradley 10 Minnesota State 3
1960 Corn Bowl Bradley 21 North Dakota 17

Controversy

The school's teams are named the "Braves."

In August 2005, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which conducts collegiate athletics, instituted a ban on schools that use "hostile and abusive" American Indian nicknames from hosting postseason games, beginning February 2006. Bradley was initially placed on a list of schools with such names. In April 2006, after a lengthy and contentious appeals process by Bradley officials, the NCAA agreed to remove Bradley from the list but placed it on a 5-year watch list.[6]

Groups and activities

Forensics

Westlake Hall is home to Bradley's College of Education and Health Sciences.

Bradley University boasts the nation's most prolific college forensics team, with their American Forensics Association Championship winning streak from 1980 through 2000 only broken in 1994 and 1995.[7][8] Bradley's forensics team hosts the nation's oldest intercollegiate competition, known as the L.E. Norton Invitational. The tournament is named after former forensics director L.E. Norton. The team also hosts an annual tournament for high school speech teams, known as the George Armstrong Invitational. Beginning in 2012, Bradley's half of the 74 Swing Tournament (co-hosted with Illinois State University) will be named the Dan Smith Invitational.

In April 2010 Bradley's Speech Team regained the American Forensics Association title in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, winning the title after a decade long dry spell. Three senior students set a new record by taking the top three spots in individual sweepstakes (1st – Amanda Voiral, 2nd – Jared Boyer, 3rd – Patrick Campbell).[9]

In April 2011 Bradley's Speech Team won four individual National Championship Titles at the National Forensic Association National Tournament: Elle Pratt, National Champion Dramatic Interpretation; Blake Longfellow, National Champion Informative Speaking; Jacoby Cochran, National Champion Persuasion Speaking & Individual Sweepstakes Champion.[10]

In April 2012 Bradley's Speech Team reclaimed National Championships at both the American Forensic Association NIET and the National Forensic Association National Tournament. It was the first time since 1998 Bradley won both tournaments in the same competitive season. At the AFA-NIET, individual Champions included: Jacoby Cochran/Justin Restaino (Duo Interpretation), Cecil Blutcher (Poetry Interpretation), and Jacoby Cochran (Communication Analysis and Individual Overall Champion). At NFA, individual Champions included: Camille Yameen (Prose Interpretation), Cecil Blutcher (Poetry Interpretation), Jacoby Cochran (Rhetorical Criticism and Individual Overall Champion). This was also the final year for Director of Forensics Prof. Dan Smith, who after 15 years, retires from his role tied with legendary Bradley Director of Forensics George Armstrong for most National wins.

Greek

More than thirty percent of undergraduate students are involved in fraternities and sororities at Bradley University. The community currently consists of twenty-seven chapters, representing the North-American Interfraternity Conference, National Panhellenic Conference, and National Pan-Hellenic Council. Twenty of the chapters have houses on campus, which are primarily located on the south side of campus. Currently drinking is banned for all Greek life members, a controversial decision by the president of the university.[11]

Active Chapters of the North American Interfraternity Conference

Active Chapters of the National Panhellenic Conference

Active Fraternity Chapters of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)

Active Sorority Chapters of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)

Other social and professional organizations

Broadside

The annual student literary journal, Broadside, publishes student art and writing in a 100-page journal that is released each spring. The publication is staffed and run entirely by students. The organization also holds two readings: an informal "open mic" night in the fall, and a formal reading in the Wyckoff Room of the Cullom-Davis Library in late April which usually features writers published in the journal.

The Scout

The student-run weekly newspaper, The Scout, covers student life and issues on campus, Bradley sports, and local Peoria news that concerns students. Dates for local concerts, movie and music reviews can all be found written by students in The Scout’s "Voice" section. Student staff rotates and changes yearly.

Project Springboard

Project Springboard is an annual business plan competition started in 2007 to complement Bradley's Entrepreneurship major. The grand prize is $15,000 in cash and one year of knowledge capital valued at more than $100,000. Project Springboard's inaugural winner, iRepair Squad, announced in February 2008 that their sales had topped $1 million. The competition was brought to Bradley by Peoria businessman Alexis Khazzam, owner of Junction Ventures, who donated $200,000 to the university to fund the competition.[12]

Notable people

Alumni

Government, public service, and public policy

Literature, arts, and media

Business and science

Athletics

Infamous

Faculty

People who did not attend Bradley as a student but were on the Bradley staff or faculty.

See also

Nearby colleges

References

  1. ^ Part One. (PDF) .
  2. ^ "Quickfacts". www.bradley.edu. Bradley University. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  3. ^ The Founding of Bradley. Bradley.edu.
  4. ^ NCATE Accredited Schools – Bradley University[dead link]
  5. ^ Center for Residential Living and Leadership[dead link]
  6. ^ NCAA – NCAA Executive Committee Announces Native American Mascot Appeals Decisions. None.
  7. ^ Champions of the National Individual Events Tournament. Americanforensics.org.
  8. ^ The Bradley University Speech Team. Bradleyspeechteam.com.
  9. ^ AFA Tab Sheets. (PDF) .
  10. ^ Nationals. Nationalforensics.org.
  11. ^ http://bugreeklife.com/community-statistics
  12. ^ Project Springboard. Springboard.bradley.edu (February 9, 2012).
  13. ^ ""Judge David T. Caldwell" in J. Cleveland Fruge, Biographies of Louisiana Judges". files.usgwarchives.org, Louisiana District Judges Association, 1971. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  14. ^ Alum is Miss November. Bradley.edu.
  15. ^ Biography for Serria Tawan on IMDb
  16. ^ "US 'cannot hold enemy combatant'". BBC. June 11, 2007. Retrieved June 11, 2007.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bradley University.
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