ROCKFORD, Ill. — The English Department at Rockford University hosts its eighth annual “Read Aloud of Black American Voices” this month. The event’s organizer is taking a more experimental approach and increasing focus on engagement for 2017.

Michael Perry, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English and Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, says he’s lining up some guest readers from the community for the public event, but ultimately he hopes to encourage a two-way dialogue.

“We’ll focus in on some passages, and then we’ll use that as a springboard for wherever the discussion takes us,” said Perry, adding, “My goal is to shine a light on a different aspect of African-American literature, and hopefully get more people to engage.”

“Read Aloud of Black American Voices” will take place in Fisher Chapel on the Rockford University Campus, 5050 E. State St., on the following dates and times:

Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017

• Noon – 1 p.m.
• 3 – 4 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017

• 3 – 4 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 24, 2017

• Noon – 1 p.m.

Past events have featured a variety of African American works, including poetry, prose, and lyrics. This year’s selection is  James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, which became a national bestseller and an instrumental voice to the civil rights movement after it first published in 1963.

Following a tumultuous year that yielded police-involved shootings and saw racial and religious tensions stirred up during a bitterly fought battle for the presidency, Perry says Baldwin’s book couldn’t be more appropriate.

“This particular text is pretty timely. It was a conscious choice,” he said. “That was explicitly my goal here – find something that was timely, that would get more interest.”

Perry received funding from the Jane Addams Center for Civic Engagement to distribute 50 copies of The Fire Next Time throughout campus in early December, a move he hopes will bring “more buy-in from the community.”

People may choose passages of their preference to read aloud, and Perry is avoiding a topic-specific approach so any aspect related to the book can be up for discussion. Based on the first two “Read Aloud” events on Feb. 9, he says the format may evolve.

“I don’t have a political agenda. I’m not going to be teaching. I’m not going to be lecturing,” Perry said. “I’m not going to be up there telling people how to read it or what to think. I’m going to point to passages and have a discussion that engages.”

For more information, please contact Professor Perry at mperry@rockford.edu.

ROCKFORD, Ill. — Rockford University’s Spring 2017 Forum Series kicks off its first of nine events next week, with this semester’s highlights including a celebration of the 170^th anniversary of the signing of Rockford University’s charter, a visit from artist and activist Che “Rhymefest” Smith, insights from a world-renowned art detective and a presentation by the director of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute.

The forum series is open to the public and, with the exception of performing arts events Orchesis Dance Company Concert, The Great American Trailer Park Musical and A Flea in Her Ear, are free of charge. Lectures and performances will take place on the Rockford University campus, 5050 East State Street, Rockford. Tickets are required for all events and can be obtained by contacting the Rockford University Box Office at 815-226-4100 or boxoffice@rockford.edu.

Action / (Re)action: Orchesis Dance Company in Concert
Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 26-28, 7:30 p.m., Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center

The Rockford University Orchesis Dance Company presents their annual concert of classical and contemporary dance. New works by dance faculty members Amy A. Wright and Mitchell Stolberg include ballet, modern, dance theatre, contemporary jazz, and tap.
Tickets – $12 adults, $9 students and seniors

Sex and the Law: C.L. Lindsay
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 7 p.m., Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center

Attorney, author, and student advocate C.L. Lindsay will explain how the law applies to the more sordid parts of the college experience. Learn the legal aspects of consensual sexual issues, contraception, STDs, public nudity, sexting, stalking, and more.

14 Traits of Leadership: Chris Czarnik
Wednesday, Feb. 8, 3 p.m., Severson Auditorium, Scarborough Hall

Leadership is hard to define but easy to see. This seminar analyzes the fourteen traits that leaders must demonstrate on a daily basis in order for others to follow them and for you to lead your own life. We will also discuss the most common mistakes that new leaders make and how to avoid them. Chris Czarnik is a national career search expert with 12 years of job search counseling and motivational speaking experience. His innovative approach to job search has helped thousands of people land rewarding careers.

The Great American Trailer Park Musical
Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 23-25, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 26, 2 p.m., Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center

You’ll want to sing along with The Great American Trailer Park Musical, a naughty, bawdy, mischievous, and dysfunctional Florida community set to music. Directed by Jeff Hendry, Professor of Performing Arts.
$12 adults, $9 students and seniors

Charter Day
Monday, Feb. 27, 4 p.m., Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center

The 170th anniversary of the signing of the charter for Rockford University includes an academic procession of faculty in traditional robes depicting their rank, with stoles representing their respective alma maters and degrees. This year’s speaker will be Beloit College President Scott Bierman.

Breaking Down Walls & Building Bridges: Che “Rhymefest” Smith
Tuesday, March 14, 7 p.m., Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center

Che “Rhymefest” Smith discusses how to citizens can use positions of leverage to address issues of police brutality, systematic biases, and lack of services. As a writer, artist, activist, political organizer and teacher, Che has cracked glass ceilings and shattered negative stereotypes about hip-hop. Among other awards, he won a Grammy for co-writing “Jesus Walks” with Kanye West and an Oscar for his work on the song “Glory,” featured in the film Selma.

 Priceless: Robert Wittman
Monday, March 20, 2016, 7 p.m., Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center

Called “the most famous art detective in the world,” Robert Wittman founded the FBI’s National Art Crime Team and served for 20 years as the FBI’s investigative expert in this field. He is responsible for recovering more than $300 million in stolen art and cultural property around the world. Since retiring from the FBI in 2008, he authored the New York Times bestseller Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue The World’s Stolen Treasures. He speaks about his FBI career leading audiences through notorious art heists and incredibly daring undercover recoveries.

Astrobiology: Penelope J. Boston
Thursday, April 6, 4 p.m., Severson Auditorium, Scarborough Hall

Dr. Penelope Boston is the director of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute. Prior to joining NASA, Boston founded and directed the Cave and Karst Studies Program at New Mexico Tech, where she also served as a professor and led their Earth and environmental sciences department as chair. She also served from 2002 to 2016 as associate director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute, a congressionally mandated institute in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

A Flea in Her Ear
Thursday-Saturday, April 27-29, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 30, 2 p.m., Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center

Paranoia, infidelity, and lechery take center stage in raucous bedroom farce A Flea in Her Ear, a hysterical cocktail of chaos that could only have been devised by the master of comic stagecraft, Feydeau. Directed by Deborah Mogford, Performing Arts Chair, Professor of Performing Arts. $12 adults, $9 students and seniors

For the second year in a row, Professor of Performing Arts Jeff Hendry has received the award for Best Costume Design from Broadwayworld.com for his work on Mamma Mia! which ran Aug.  10 – 27, 2016. The show was a production of Maine State Music Theatre, a professional musical theater organization located on the Bowdoin College campus in Brunswick, Maine. Professor Hendry won the 2015 Best Costume Design award for Sister Act and The Music Man.

Professor Hendry has been with Rockford University since 1982. Originally from Arizona, where he received a bachelor of fine arts in theatre production from the University of Arizona, he moved to the east coast to study at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and received his master of fine arts in costume design.‌ ‌‌‌‌

Throughout his career, Hendry has worked at a variety of regional theatres on both coasts including the Old Globe Theatre, Champlain Shakespeare Festival, Tennessee Williams Arts Center, and New London Barn Playhouse. Here at Rockford University, besides teaching the courses in costume design and designing costumes for all the mainstage productions, he teaches in the musical theater program in addition to teaching a variety of other courses such as Introduction to Theatre, Performing Arts Seminar and Senior Seminar, as well as directing a production each year. Some of the favorite productions which he has directed include, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Pericles, Rashomon, A Little Night Music, Phantom and Angels in America Part 1.

Besides his costuming work at the university, Hendry has designed for the University of Wisconsin at both Stevens Point and Madison where he collaborated with nationally syndicated cartoonist Nicole Hollander on a musical version of her comic strip Sylvia’s Real Good Advice. Regionally, Hendry has designed costumes for the Fireside Theatre, Circa’ 21 Dinner Playhouse and Little Theatre on the Square, (where he received a Herald Award for his designs for Babes in Arms). In the Chicago area, his designs have appeared on the stages of Northlight Theater (Everything’s Ducky, It Ain’t Nothing But the Blues- with Broadway director Randal Mlyer), Chicago Shakespeare Theatre (The Little Mermaid), Theatre at the Center (Gypsy, Grand Hotel), Drury Lane Water Tower Place (Grand Hotel), and Drury Lane Evergreen Park, where he designed 29 productions including; Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, Sophisticated Ladies, Phantom and West Side Story and received two prestigious Joseph Jefferson Award nominations, (Chicago’s Tony Award) for his designs for Jerry’s Girls and Singin’ in the Rain.

Mamma Mia! costumes designed by Jeff Hendry

Contact Rita Elliott, Director of Communications, 815.226.3374

President Eric W. Fulcomer, Ph.D., has named Matthew D. Phillips as Vice President for Enrollment Management, effective immediately. In this role Phillips will oversee Undergraduate Admission, Student Administrative Services, Global Affairs, Student Success and Retention, and Athletics. Phillips was previously serving as Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management, filling the position previously held by Dr. Fulcomer.

Dr. Fulcomer says, “Since Matt’s appointment as Interim Vice President on June 1, 2016, he has proven himself to be a capable enrollment manager who is passionate about serving the institution he loves. Matt is eager to take on new challenges and to continue to move our recruitment and retention efforts forward.”

Phillips has served as a member of Rockford University’s Enrollment Management Leadership Team since his appointment as Associate Vice President for Global Affairs in October of 2012. In this role, he was responsible for guiding the University’s globalization efforts to both increase the international student population on campus and to enhance opportunities for students traveling abroad for short and long-term study. Of taking on the Vice President for Enrollment Management position permanently, Phillips adds, “I’m honored to have the opportunity to continue to advance the enrollment at Rockford University.  It is exciting, challenging, and rewarding work.  Our collective efforts are realized on my two favorite days each year; meeting students on their first day on campus and watching those same students walk across the stage as graduates, not just reaching their goals of earning a degree but having become engaged and productive citizens in the process.”

Phillips has been associated with Rockford University for more than a decade. He received his undergraduate degree from Rockford in 2004 and his MBA in 2006. He’s served in a variety of positions including graduate assistant, Special Assistant to the President, Director of Operations, Contracts, and Services; Associate Vice President of Operations; and Associate Vice President for Global Affairs and Operations.

Contact Rita Elliott, Director of Communications, 815.226.3374

Rockford University’s campus and offices will close for winter break from Friday, Dec. 23, 2016, through Monday, Jan. 2, 2017.

Normal business hours will resume on Tuesday, Jan. 3. Classes begin on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

Happy Holidays.

Transfer students interested in applying at Rockford University are invited to attend the “Spring Transfer Admit-athon” on Thursday, January 5. The walk-in event requires no appointment and will take place from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Nelson Hall, on RU’s campus, 5050 East State Street, Rockford.

Admission counselors will be available to help interested applicants fill out the free application and receive an admission decision on the spot. Please bring an official transcript with you. First-year students will also need ACT/SAT scores.

Classes for the spring 2017 semester begin on Tuesday, January 17, at Rockford University. Students in all levels of education are served including first-year students, transfer students, international students, veterans, and adult students. Rockford University is a four-year, co-educational institution founded in 1847 offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in traditional liberal arts and professional fields. The University offers approximately 80 majors, minors and concentrations and currently serves approximately 1,300 students.

Spring semester offers opportunities for both first-year students to begin their academic career, and transfer students to advance in Rockford University’s traditional undergraduate programs. Financial aid and scholarships are still available for full-time traditional undergraduate students.

Questions may be directed to Rockford University Admissions at 815.226.4050.

Media contact: Director of Communications Rita Elliott, 815.226.3374

Classes for the spring 2017 semester begin on Tuesday, January 17, at Rockford University and there is still time to enroll. Students in all levels of education are served including first-year students, transfer students, international students, veterans, and adult students. Rockford University is a four-year, co-educational institution founded in 1847 offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in traditional liberal arts and professional fields. The University offers approximately 80 majors, minors and concentrations and currently serves approximately 1,300 students.

Spring semester offers opportunities for both first-year students to begin their academic career, and transfer students to advance in Rockford University’s traditional undergraduate programs. Financial aid and scholarships are still available for full-time traditional undergraduate students.

The next cohort start date for the adult accelerated degree completion program to earn a Bachelor of Science in Management Studies (BSMS) degree begins February 7, 2017. The BSMS program is designed to provide a quality educational experience for adult learners in an accelerated format. The program also provides a tuition-covered option for qualified adults who have been out of work for at least 18 months and will cover any remaining tuition after all eligible state and federal student aid is applied. Qualified applicants must be Illinois residents 25 years of age and older who have been unemployed for at least 18 months, have some transferable college credit, but have not already earned a bachelor’s degree.

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Graduate Education programs in Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) and Master of Education (MEd) programs allow students to take up to four courses before formally enrolling in the program and offer flexible options for working adults. The MAT program offers several licensure tracks and endorsements in areas like special education, reading specialist, instructional strategies and bilingual education. New Master of Education degrees are offered in Urban Education and Pedagogical Practice. There is also a variety of options available to degreed professionals who may wish to enter the teaching profession. The Master of Business Administration (MBA) program covers a variety of functional areas including accounting, economics, finance, management and marketing. Students can choose a concentration in disciplines such as MBA/CPA, public and not-for-profit management, entrepreneurship or management.

Undergraduate/Bachelor inquires – Contact the Rockford University Office of Admission at 815-226-4050 or 800-892-2984, or email to Admissions@rockford.edu for more information about applying for undergraduate classes. You may also apply online for free at www.rockford.edu/admission/apply/.

Master’s programs – Contact the Rockford University Graduate Office at 815-226-4040 today if interested in MBA or Graduate Education courses.

Visit www.rockford.edu for more information.

Home for the Holidays

Rockford University Performing Arts
Winter Choral Concert

Friday, Dec. 9, 2016, at 7:30 PM in Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center on the Rockford University campus, 5050 East State Street. Clark Arts is accesible.

Admission is free but a ticket is required. Contact the boxoffice@rockford.edu, or 815.226-4100 for tickets.

Share in the sounds of the season with Rockford University’s Regent Singers, Women’s Ensemble, Gospel Choir, and Vocal Collective (pictured below).

The next Future Regent Visit Day will be held on Friday, November 11, 2016 from 11:30 – 3:30 on the Rockford University campus, 5050 East State Street, Rockford. 

Interested students are encouraged to attend to learn more about the educational offerings at Rockford University. Activities for the day inlcude the following: 

To learn more about the November 11 Future Regent Visit Day and to register, visit https://www.rockford.edu/admission/visit/day/.

Contact: Rita Elliott, Director of Communications, 815-226-3374

Rockford University will inaugurate Eric W. Fulcomer, Ph.D., as its 18th President on Friday, November 4 at 2 p.m., in the Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center, on the Rockford University campus, 5050 East State Street, Rockford, Ill. Along with the day’s formal celebrations, more than 30 Academic Showcases featuring a variety of activities highlighting the scholarship and creative activities of the university’s faculty, staff, and students are planned. Showcases will be held from 9-11:45 a.m., at various locations across the campus. The entire campus, inaugural guests and anyone interested is encouraged to attend. A full schedule of events is located on the Inauguration pages of rockford.edu.

July 1, 2016, marked the first day in office for Dr. Fulcomer who was one of four finalists selected in the nation-wide search process to name Dr. Robert L. Head’s successor. Dr. Fulcomer’s appointment was finalized with a unanimous vote at the University’s Board of Trustees meeting on February 20, 2016. Previously, Dr. Fulcomer served as the Vice President for Enrollment Management at Rockford University and has more than two decades of leadership experience in higher education.

Dr. Fulcomer says, “Since joining the institution three years ago, I have been so impressed by our highly distinguished faculty who excel in their fields and who prepare our students well for graduate school, vocation and active participation in a global society. I have been equally impressed by our many dedicated staff members who support our students in so many ways. I believe that the education we provide at Rockford University is indeed the very best of what American higher education has to offer: grounded in the liberal arts and extended by professional and practical experience.”

In addition to his enrollment management responsibilities at Rockford University, Dr. Fulcomer supervised the areas of student administrative services, student life, athletics and global affairs. Prior to coming to Rockford, Dr. Fulcomer was Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Life at Bluffton University in Bluffton, Ohio. He has teaching experience at both Bluffton University and Bowling Green State University.

Dr. Fulcomer received his doctorate in Higher Education Administration from the University of Toledo, his master’s degree in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University and his bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature, cum laude, from Eastern Michigan University.