Upper Iowa University to cut ribbon at Quad Cities Center March 22; Bettendorf mayor to speak
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Upper Iowa University is now holding classes in its |
FAYETTE, Iowa (March 8, 2012) — Upper Iowa University will celebrate one of its newest locations on Thursday, March 22, during a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday. The University, which now operates 18 U.S. education centers in addition to its residential campus in Fayette, began offering classes in the Quad Cities a year ago and recently opened its newly built center at 1401 Kimberly Road, Bettendorf.
Speakers at the event will include UIU President Alan G. Walker, as well as Bettendorf Mayor Bob Gallagher.
Also speaking will be William Duffy, senior vice president for Academic Extension (AE), and Fritz Oppenlander, AE associate vice president. The University’s Academic Extension includes its education centers in the United States as well as the Center for Distance Education, which offers online and independent student programs. Also speaking during the ceremony is Richard Troendle, a junior at the center, majoring in Human Resources Management. Troendle is completing his bachelor’s degree at the center after retiring from the U.S. Army.
Tours and a reception will follow the ribbon cutting.
“We are very pleased to be fully up and running in the Quad Cities and to welcome the community to our new education center,” said Walker. “UIU was one of the first universities in the country to begin operating off-campus centers to bring education to non-traditional students who must balance their commitment to education with their careers and family. We are committed to helping these students succeed, and we look forward to a long future in the Quad Cities.”
Walker noted that UIU has articulation agreement with the Eastern Iowa Community College District as well as Black Hawk Community College, which makes it easier for students to transfer their community college credits to Upper Iowa University and to complete bachelor’s degrees. Enrollment at the Quad Cities Center is increasing each term, Walker added. UIU offers courses in six, 8-week terms each year.
The UIU Quad Cities Center offers courses leading to the completion of 13 majors: accounting, business administration, criminal justice, emergency and disaster management, health services administration, human resources management, human services, interdisciplinary studies, management, marketing, psychology, and public administration. Students also may take courses online to complete their degree.
After its founding in Fayette in 1857, the University formulated a systematic program of extension work throughout Northeast Iowa by 1920, sending UIU representatives into neighboring communities as instructors. From 1981-84, UIU began establishing off-campus educational centers, reaching Madison, Wis.; Des Moines, Iowa; Waterloo, Iowa; Prairie du Chien, Wis.; Fort Riley, Kan.; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Wausau, Wis. Enrollments quadrupled as the University expanded and restructured itself. In the 1990s, UIU continued to expand its extended university offerings and opened new centers in Fort Polk and DeRidder, La.; Janesville, Wis.; Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; and Jackson Barracks, La. As the University’s focus shifted to becoming an entrepreneurial university to meet the educational needs of learners worldwide, UIU began to open programs in the Pacific Rim, starting with Hong Kong and now including Malaysia and Singapore. In 2001, UIU received programmatic accreditation from the International Assembly of Collegiate Business Educators for what is now known as Academic Extension and opened additional centers, including a facility in Ankeny, Iowa; Elkhorn, Wis.; Alexandria, La; Rockford, Ill.; and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.. Recently, UIU added a center at Fort Sill near Lawton, Okla., and the center in the Quad Cities. This spring, UIU will also open its rebuilt center at Jackson Barracks in New Orleans.
For more information about Upper Iowa University, go to uiu.edu.
About Upper Iowa University
Founded in 1857, Upper Iowa University is a private, not-for-profit university providing undergraduate and graduate degree programs and leadership development opportunities to over 6,800 students—nationally and internationally—at its Fayette campus and learning centers worldwide. Upper Iowa University is a recognized innovator in offering accredited, quality programs through flexible, multiple delivery systems, including online and independent study.
Contact:
Monica Bayer Heaton
Executive Director of Communications and Marketing
Phone: 563-425-5773
Cell: 515-291-2070
heatonm@uiu.edu