Midstate College

Midstate College
Former names	Brown's Business College of Commerce (1888–1960) Midstate College of Commerce (1960–1970)
Established	1888
Type	Private, for-profit university
Chairman	R. Dale Bunch[1]
President	Meredith N. Bunch (2010–)[1]
Dean	Margaret Starr
Students	685 (in 2010)[1]
Location	Peoria, Illinois, USA 40°45′42″N 89°35′57″W / 40.76167°N 89.59917°W / 40.76167; -89.59917Coordinates: 40°45′42″N 89°35′57″W / 40.76167°N 89.59917°W / 40.76167; -89.59917
Campus	Urban
Website	www.midstate.edu

Midstate College is a small, private, for-profit vocational school and proprietary college in Peoria, Illinois.

History

Midstate College's origins date back to 1857, when a commercial school was started in Peoria. In 1865, a similar school opened, and the two schools combined in 1868. In 1888, the merged school was bought by George W. Brown, principal of Jacksonville Business College, and named Brown's Business College of Commerce.^[2][3]

In 1902, a new building was completed at 240 South (now Southwest) Jefferson Street, on the corner of Jefferson and Harrison Streets downtown, and Brown's Business College moved into the second and third floors.^[3]

Over time, Mr. Brown increased his properties to 20 institutions, including Cairo, Decatur, Jacksonville and Rockford in Illinois; Davenport and Muscatine, Iowa; and St. Louis, Missouri.^[3]

Mr. Brown continued ownership of the Peoria school until 1913, then sold it to a Mr. Reed. Reed sold the school in 1960 to A.R. Beard, Don Beard, and Arline H. Bunch, who renamed the school Midstate College of Commerce. In 1965, the Bunch family purchased the stock, and renamed the school to simply Midstate College in 1970.^[2] R. Dale Bunch became president around 1965.^[1]

In October 1997,^[2] Midstate moved from its 95-year-old downtown location to 411 West Northmoor Road, near the corner of Northmoor Road and Knoxville Avenue (Illinois Route 40). The downtown building was bought by a developer, was renovated, and became known as the Prairie Building in 1998.^[4]

In November 1999, Midstate was approved as a four-year institution and began offering a Bachelor of Business Administration degree; other bachelor degrees have been added since.^[2] The Arline H. Bunch Business Center opened in January 2002.^[2]

Bunch's daughter, Meredith N. Bunch, became college president in November 2010; R. Dale Bunch remained chairman of the board.^[1]

References