Aurora University: A Brief History

Today, Aurora University is a private, independent, comprehensive institution with an enrollment of over 4,300 students. Four-hundred students reside on campus, 945 full-time undergraduates and 371 part-time undergraduate are commuters, 1075 are graduate students, and about 2000 students attend at off-campus sites. The majority of AU students come from the upper-Midwest region, but 20 states and over a dozen foreign countries are represented as well. In addition to the main campus in Aurora, Illinois, Aurora University has a 290-acre campus near Lake Geneva in Williams Bay, WI.

Aurora University had its beginning as Mendota Seminary, founded in Mendota, Illinois, in 1893, as an institution to train ministers and lay workers in the Advent Christian Church. Almost immediately, however, the name was changed to Mendota College and the school took on the much broader mission of providing a full collegiate curriculum with a liberal arts base.

By 1911, the college had outgrown its facilities and sought a new location closer to Chicago. Citizens of Aurora donated land on what was then the rural edge of the city, and Charles Eckhart, founder of the Auburn Motorcar Company, provided a donation that covered the cost of erecting the first three buildings of what would now be known as Aurora College--Eckhart, Wilkinson, and Davis Halls. Classes in Aurora commenced in the spring of 1912.

Aurora College grew substantially over the years and took on many new challenges. In 1938, it was one of the first small colleges to achieve regional accreditation. In 1947, the College's evening program was instituted--one of the nation's first adult education programs at a liberal arts college. In 1971, Aurora College became legally independent of the Advent Christian Church.

In January of 1985 Aurora College was reorganized into Aurora University, reflecting both the increased size of the institution and the needs of its many new programs. In the fall of 1992, Aurora University entered into an affiliation agreement with George Williams College. Under the agreement, the George Williams College of Aurora University was created to be the home of the School of Social Work, Recreation Administration, Physical Education, and Teacher Education programs. In addition, George Williams College's then 150-acre Lake Geneva, Wisconsin facility became part of a corporation controlled by Aurora University. Ninety acres were added to the campus in the late 1990s. A complete and full merger took place in June, 2000, and now the Lake Geneva campus is officially part of Aurora University. Courses offered at both campuses are accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.