 | |
Former names | Brown's Business College of Commerce (1888–1960) Midstate College of Commerce (1960–1970) |
|---|---|
| Type | for-profituniversity |
| Active | 1888–2019 |
| Chairman | R. Dale Bunch[1] |
| President | Meredith N. Bunch (2010–2019)[1] |
| Students | 685 (in 2010)[1] |
| Location | ,, United States 40°45′42″N89°35′57″W / 40.76167°N 89.59917°W /40.76167; -89.59917 |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | www |
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Midstate College was afor-profit college inPeoria,Illinois.
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 namedBrown'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, includingCairo,Decatur,Jacksonville andRockford in Illinois;Davenport andMuscatine, Iowa; andSt. 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 schoolMidstate College of Commerce. In 1965, the Bunch family purchased the stock, and renamed the school to simplyMidstate 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 aBachelor of Business Administration degree; other bachelor's degrees were added later.[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 remainedchairman of the board.[1]
In 2018, Midstate College announced an upcomingMaster of Business Administration program.[5][needs update]
In July 2019, Meredith Bunch announced that Midstate would close at the end of the 2019 summer semester and put the campus up for sale, after the college went through declining enrollment and a potential partnership with another educational institution fell through, leaving the college with a lack of funding.[6][7][needs update]
