Bradley University Informations

Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in 1897, Bradley University currently enrolls 5,400 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in five colleges. The university is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and 22 national accrediting agencies.

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, leaving 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.

The first music building on Bradley's Campus was built in 1930 and named after Jennie Meta Constance(the English department), who was murdered on August 28, 1928. In 1962 the building was renovated to become the music building of Bradley's Campus. Only approximately $2,500 was spent renovating the building, most of the money was spent turning a kitchen into a classroom. In 2002 more renovations were made to Constance Hall to modernize it and make it more spacious. The renovation included an elevator and more office space.

Bradley University was ranked #6 among 172 Midwest Regional Universities in the 2019 edition of America's Best Colleges published by U.S. News and World Report. The annual survey also recognized Bradley as the 36th "best value" Midwestern school in the ranking of Great Schools at Great Prices.

The Bradley University Department of Teacher Education and College of Education and Health Sciences is NCATE-approved. Additionally, Bradley University's Foster College of Business is one of less than 2% of business schools worldwide to achieve and maintain AACSB International accreditation for both business and accounting programs.

Bradley University is organized into the following colleges and schools:

Students without a declared major may also be admitted to the Academic Exploration Program (AEP).

The University is also home to the Charley Steiner School of Sports Communication, the first such named school in the U.S.

Through the Graduate School, Bradley University offers Masters level graduate degrees in five of its colleges: 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 offers a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.

Bradley University is among the first universities in the nation to have a school of entrepreneurship and the first established as a freestanding academic unit. The Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation is named in honor of Bob and Carolyn Turner, long-time supporters of Bradley. The Turners established the Robert and Carolyn Turner Center for Entrepreneurship in 2002. Dr. Gerald Hills, the School's founding academic executive director, received the Karl Vesper Entrepreneurship Pioneer Award in 2012 and the Babson Lifetime Award in 2011. Hills served as the Turner Chair of Entrepreneurship until he retired in December 2014.

Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review ranked Bradley's undergraduate entrepreneurship program among the top 25 programs in the nation.

Bradley is headquarters for the national Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization (CEO), with CEO student chapters at 240 universities.

As of the 2015-2016 school year, students who are enrolled full-time at Bradley University pay $31,110 for tuition. Students living in the residence halls on campus pay an additional $9,700 for room and board, along with a $370 activity and health fee. The total cost for full-time students living on campus is $41,180. The University offers hundreds of different scholarships and grants from numerous sources such as federal, state and private entities. They provide financial aid in the form of loans, work study, scholarship, and grants. Financial assistance awards are typically received by more than 85% of the University's students.

Bradley's 84-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.

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.

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

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