FORUM SERIES

The Rockford University Forum Series presents speakers in a variety of disciplines who have achieved success both nationally and locally, and performers of stature in the arts. The Forum Series’ central programming focus is geared toward students, while also seeking to connect campus to the local community. Lectures and performances are concerned with intellectual, social, and cultural matters of general interest to deepen and broaden students’ education at Rockford University and enhance the rich culture of Rockford.

Forum Series presenters and events cover a broad spectrum of scope and genre. Events have included the Tibetan lamas from Drepung Loseling Monastery and their creation of a mandala—a sacred sand painting; Holocaust survivor Zev Kedem, the compelling speaker who worked with Steven Spielberg on the movie Schindler’s List; Oscar Arias, former president of Costa Rica and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on a Central American Peace Plan; quadriplegic Olympic bronze medal rugby player Mark Zupan; film documentarian Barbara Martinez Jitner, who produced “La Frontera;” Davar Ardalan, author of “My Name is Iran;” and traditional University events like the President’s Opening Convocation, Charter Day Convocation, and theater productions.

Admission is free for students* but tickets are required for Performing Arts and Sports events. Gallery shows, Performing Arts Senior Seminars, and Recitals do not require tickets. Please contact the Box Office at 815-226-4100 for additional information. To request and reserve tickets, please email BoxOffice@rockford.edu.

*Except mainstage theatre performances for the general public (tickets can be purchased by visiting rupa.ludus.com; Rockford University students receive one free ticket to each Performing Arts event upon request with valid ID by visiting the box office or emailing boxoffice@rockford.edu. 

The Forum Series presents both Home Grown and Marquee events on the Rockford University campus in multiple locations. Please refer to the campus map for help finding venues if needed. https://www.rockford.edu/about/campusmap/

For further information on some of the events below and additional athletic schedules, please use one of the links below:

-Gallery shows https://www.rockford.edu/artslectures/artgallery/ Current gallery hours: Tuesday and Thursday 12-3pm, or by appointment—contact Ari Norris at anorris@rockford.edu

-Performing Arts Programs https://www.rockford.edu/artslectures/performingarts/

-Athletics Department, teams, and team schedule info https://rockfordregents.com/index.aspx

Spring 2026 Lineup

Forum Marquee Event                                                                              Conrad Bakker / Untitled Projects

On Display: January 19th-March 2nd
Reception: Friday, February 20th, 6:00-8:00PM
Artist Talk: Friday, February 20th, 7:00PM

Conrad Bakker makes carved and painted sculptures out of everyday objects and positions them specifically to reveal their political economies and relational networks. Bakker has exhibited his work extensively, including at the Tate Modern (London), Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon (France), Galerie Analix Forever (Geneva), Fargfabriken Center for Contemporary Art and Architecture (Stockholm), the New Museum (New York), the Renaissance Society (Chicago), the Contemporary Art Museum Houston, The Utah Museum of Fine Arts (Salt Lake City), in Cabinet Magazine, in stranger’s mailboxes and on his own front lawn. His work has been the subject of articles and reviews in Frieze, Contemporary, Flash Art, Art Forum, Art World, ArtUS, Art Papers, Sculpture, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, and The New Yorker. Bakker has been awarded individual artist grants from the Creative Capital Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council, and the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant Program.

He teaches in the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Untitled Project: Robert Smithson Library & Book Club consists of carved and painted book/sculptures based on the titles from the personal library of conceptual artist and land art pioneer Robert Smithson. Smithson’s personal library is notable in that his titles reveal a wide range of subjects, providing a unique window into his research and practice—and also functioning like a time capsule featuring the culture and ideas of his time. Soon after Robert Smithson’s untimely death in 1973, all of his books were catalogued, boxed, and placed into the Archives of American Art, where they currently reside. Untitled Project has been exhibited at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, The Wright Museum at Beloit College, The Institute of Contemporary Art

Women’s Basketball Senior Day                                                  Saturday, February 14, 2026 vs. Milwaukee School of Engineering Game time 1pm, Ceremony time TBA                                                Seaver Center, Rockford University

Help recognize those senior students playing their last home game(s) by coming out to cheer them on!

Men’s Basketball Senior Day                                                      Wednesday February 18, 2026 vs. Illinois Institute of Technology        Game time 7pm, Ceremony time TBA                                                Seaver Center, Rockford University

Help recognize those senior students playing their last home game(s) by coming out to cheer them on!

Ride the Cyclone
February 19-22, 2026, and February 26-28 (Thursday-Saturday, 7:30 pm; Sunday 2 pm)
Cheek Theatre, Clark Arts Center
Director, Prof. Marrissa Barnathan

In this hilarious and outlandish musical, the lives of six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. When they awake in limbo, a mechanical fortune teller invites each character to tell a story to win a prize like no other — the chance to return to life. With an eclectic score and witty dialogue, Ride the Cyclone is a funny, moving look at what makes a life well-lived. Ride the Cyclone is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC. (www.broadwaylicensing.com)

Charter Day Convocation                                                                                                                                              Monday, February 23, 2026                                                                                                                                    Event details TBA

Rockford University Faculty Exhibition Molly Dillon, Dave Menard, Ari Norris, Philip Soosloff

On Display: March 23rd-April24th
Reception: Friday, April 24th, 6:00-8:00PM
Artists’ Talk: Friday, April 24th, 7:00PM

Molly Dillon holds both an M.A. and M.F.A. from Northern Illinois University, majoring in painting and drawing with a minor emphasis in 2D and 3D design. Dillon has had a 35 year career in print media, graphic design and marketing, and currently teaches as an adjunct at Rockford University. Dillon owns and operates Mad Dog Designs, in business since the early 1990s, specializing in graphic design needs for small businesses, not-for profit organizations, and sole proprietorships. Dillon has exhibited art in galleries in the Midwest, but has also shown across the U.S., as well as in Canada. Much of her art includes imagery and influences from sources ranging from advertising, movies and comic books / cartoons, to primitive, folk, and tribal art /designs from all across the world.

Dave Menard is a printmaker, painter, and educator based in northern Illinois. For more than thirty years, he has produced drawings, collages, paintings, and prints in the region. Menard is an active member of a community of artists, designers, musicians, and DJs who organize exhibitions, live printing sessions, and collaborative events within their shared studio space in Rockford, Illinois. His practice encompasses collage, drawing, and traditional printmaking techniques. Through appropriation and figuration, Menard investigates themes of culture, politics, and social justice. He is interested in the formal possibilities of print and uses a personal narrative rooted in abstraction and improvisation to guide his work. Influences such as the Chicago Imagists, rock-and-roll youth culture, and the DIY ethos shape both imagery and process. The history of printmaking, along with the dialogue between high and low cultural forms, is central to his work and collaborative projects. Menard is drawn to the democratic nature of printmaking and the power of graphic art to challenge authority and speak truth to power.

Ari Norris is an artist primarily working in sculpture. His work utilizes a variety of processes and materials in what generally result in the duplication of real-world objects, aimed at exploring the boundaries between the ordinary and the phenomenal. Norris received an MA from Northern Illinois University in 2021, and has exhibited solo shows in Chicago at David Salkin Creative, Artruss, and The Plan. Norris has been included in exhibitions at Left Field Gallery (Los Osos, CA); ANDREW RAFACZ (Chicago, IL); South Bend Museum of Art (South Bend, IN); among other locations including Michigan, Missouri, New York, Florida, Texas, and Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Reviews of the artist’s solo exhibitions have been published by both Chicago Spleen and Newcity, and his work has been included in publications such as Chicago Gallery News, Bad at Sports, Artdose, and Whitewall. In 2025, Norris was awarded the Luminarts Visual Arts Fellowship.

Philip Soosloff is a Professor in the Department of Art and Art History at Rockford University in Rockford Illinois where he teaches ceramics, 3-D Design and sculpture. He received an MFA from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois in 1993. His work has been shown in galleries and museums across the United States for over 30 years. Recent exhibitions include the S.O.F.A. (Sculpture Objects Functional Art) Chicago Art Expo at Navy Pier from 2003-2017. His work has also been exhibited at SOFA New York, SOFA Sante Fe and Art Miami. He lives in Plato Center, Illinois in a remodeled farmhouse with his wife Laura and dog Lucy. His studio is a converted machine shed on the property.

Men’s Volleyball Senior Day                                                                  Thursday, March 26, 2026 vs. St Norbert                                            Game time 6:30pm, Ceremony TBA                                                    Seaver Center

Help recognize those senior students playing their last home game(s) by coming out to cheer them on!

Forum Marquee Event                                                                                                                              Documentary Screening of See Her, Be Her                                                                                                Date/time TBD

Forum Marquee Event                                                                                  6^th Annual Humanities Conference                                              “Paradox”                                                                                                  Friday and Saturday, April 17-18, 2026                                              Times TBA

The Rockford University Department of Languages, Philosophy, Religion, and Cultures is once again hosting a two-day conference on the nature, implications, and generative potential of paradox. Students of all disciplines to participate.

In the most recent departmental publication—a theater play by the Cuban-Spanish writer Abilio Estévez—one character describes their existence as “an extended treatise on paradox.” The word paradox, derived from the Greek para- (“beyond” or “against”) and doxa (“opinion” or “belief”), refers to a statement that appears self-contradictory yet is not necessarily illogical. It is a synthesis of opposing ideas that coexist and complement one another. Paradox can be regarded as one of the central concerns of the humanities, while also remaining a significant topic across diverse disciplines, including the sciences, psychology, politics, sociology, law, education, economics, and business.The keynote speaker, Religious Studies professor Dr. Troy Martin from Saint Xavier University, will be presenting on “Unconditional Love: A True Lie Christians Believe.”

Rumors
April 23-26, 2026 (Thursday-Saturday, 7:30 pm; Sunday 2 pm)
Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center
Director, Prof. Deborah Mogford

As their tenth wedding anniversary party commences, Charlie Brock, Deputy Mayor of New York City, seems to have just shot himself through the ear. Now he lies bleeding in the master bedroom and his wife Myra is nowhere in sight. The first guests, lawyer Ken Gorman and his wife Chris, scramble to get “the story” straight before the other guests arrive. As the confusions, cover-ups, miscommunications, and rumors mount, the evening spirals into a classic farce.  Neil Simon is the renowned master of American comedy. In Rumors he shows how even the rich and famous can be driven to ridiculous behavior when confronted with a possible scandal or even the “rumor” of a scandal. “Rumors” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

Softball Senior Day Celebration                                                          Game date/time and Ceremony TBD                                                      RU Campus Softball Field

Help recognize those senior students playing their last home game(s) by coming out to cheer them on!

Baseball Senior Day Celebration                                                      Game date/time and Ceremony TBD                                                    RU Campus Baseball Field

Spring Choral Concert
May 1, 2026 7:30 pm
Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center
Director/Conductor, Prof. Timm Adams

The annual year-end spring concert featuring multiple Rockford University choirs, soloists, and a wide range of choral music. Watch this space for more details!