| National-Louis University | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Sapientia Dignitas Temperanta [1] |
| Motto in English | Wisdom Dignity Judgement |
| Established | 1886 |
| Type | Private |
| Endowment | $22.9 million (as of June 30, 2009)[2] |
| President | Nivine Megahed |
| Undergraduates | 1600 |
| Postgraduates | 5000 |
| Location | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Campus | Chicago Loop, Illinois, Elgin, Illinois, Lisle, Illinois, Skokie, Illinois, Wheeling, Illinois, Beloit, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Tampa, Florida, Nowy Sącz, Poland, Distance Learning |
| Colors | Platinum and Blue |
| Website | www.nl.edu |
National–Louis University (NLU) is a private non-profit American university.[3] NLU has campuses in and near Chicago, Illinois, as well as in Wisconsin, Florida and Nowy Sącz, Poland. Many NLU courses and programs are also offered at-a-distance. The university practices multi-campus, at-a-distance, and cohort educational models for traditional and non-traditional students. Since its founding in 1886, NLU has played an historic role in education, when it helped found the National Kindergarten Movement, and the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and stressed the importance of academic and professional training in childhood education theory and practice.[4][5]
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National–Louis University began in 1886, when Elizabeth Harrison[6] founded the school to train "Kindergarteners", young women teachers who began the early childhood education movement.[7] The school's requirements became a model for education colleges nationwide.[8] In 1893, the university published Harrison's book, The Kindergarten as an Influence in Modern Civilization, in which she explained, "how to teach the child from the beginning of his existence that all things are connected [and] how to lead him to this vital truth from his own observation . . .." [9]
The university's name was changed to the Chicago Kindergarten Training School (1887), Chicago Kindergarten College (1893),[10] the National Kindergarten and Elementary College (1912) and then the National College of Education (1930). The "National" part of the university's name came about when the school became the professional school of the National Kindergarten Association. The university championed the concept of kindergarten and early education teaching in America and was one of the first teacher's colleges in the country to offer a four-year program culminating in the bachelor of education degree.[11][3]
In the 1920s, the university partnered with Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Jane Addams to provide educational opportunities to the largely poor, immigrant population served by Hull House.[7][12] In 1954, the university's graduate school was accredited to offer masters and doctorate level degrees. The university organized its general liberal arts offerings into the Michael W. Louis College of Arts and Sciences in 1982, and began its business and management school in 1989, offering both the bachelors and the MBA degrees.
In 1990, National–Louis University united the name of National College of Education with that of trustee and benefactor Michael W. Louis. Louis’ significant gift spearheaded the transition from college to university. NLU now encompasses three colleges—National College of Education, the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Management and Business. Together, they offer more than 60 academic programs, with degrees extending to the doctoral level.
In 2011, the university became the first in the USA to participate in a Groupon discount on course registration fees when a three-credit graduate-level course was offered for $950, an almost a 60-percent discount on the usual $2,232 fee.[13]
National–Louis University is composed of three colleges:
The university's downtown Chicago campus occupies the second through sixth floors of the historic Peoples Gas Building on Michigan Avenue in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District, across the street from the Art Institute of Chicago. It was in borrowed rooms in the then fledgling Art Institute (in its earlier home on Michigan Avenue at Van Buren) that the university held its first classes.[3]
Lycée Français de Chicago conducts classes for tenth grade through twelfth grade students at the downtown campus on the sixth floor.