Union Institute & University (UI&U) is a private, non-profit, doctoral-granting, research university that specializes in limited residence and distance learning programs. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Its main campus is in Cincinnati, Ohio, and operates satellite campuses located in Vermont, Florida, and California.
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Background
Union Institute & University traces its origins to 1964, when the president of Goddard College hosted the presidents of nine liberal arts institutions at a conference to discuss cooperation in educational innovation and experimentation. The Union for Research and Experimentation in Higher Education was established with Antioch College, Bard College, Goddard College, Chicago Teachers North, Monteith Masson, New College at Hofstra University, Sarah Lawrence College, Shimer College, and Stephens College originally forming The Union. The Union for Research and Experimentation in Higher Education The "discovery" of the English open education movement may have played a factor in the interest in progressive education. From its inception, The Union had a continuing emphasis on social relevance and interdisciplinarity of research. The Union Graduate School's doctoral programs were based on the British tutorial system. The first doctoral students were admitted in 1970. Dr. Samuel Baskin, a psychologist and educational reformer, who served on the faculty of Stephens and Antioch Colleges, was the founding president of the Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities, Union Graduate School, and the University Without Walls. The legendary philosopher and author Margaret Mead was one of first Professors.
Renamed The Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities in 1969, The Union directed its focus toward providing educational opportunities for non-traditional students whose needs were best served by a low-residency college experience, as well as those students who sought to conduct socially relevant research in an interdisciplinary manner.The Union is based on the Oxbridge educational model. By 1971, five more colleges and universities joined the Union, bringing the total consortium to 22 schools of higher education. In 1975, the number of schools in the University Without Walls network reached 34. The Union provided administrative support for these programs under the guidance of Samuel Baskin.
The Union of Experimenting Colleges and Universities, or UECU, disbanded in 1982, but the University Without Walls remained in operation.
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Post-bankruptcy
Emerging from its bankruptcy, the surviving University Without Walls was renamed sometime between 1986 and 1989 as The Union Institute. The Union Institute acquired Vermont College in Montpelier, Vermont from Norwich University in 2001. The purchase of Vermont College added several master's degree programs and an Adult Degree Program to the Union's existing undergraduate and doctoral programs. This enabled The Union to provide a progression of degree opportunities, along with certificates in advanced graduate study. In October, 2001, Union was renamed Union Institute and University.
Academics
Union Institute & University offers BA, MA, and PhD. programs in a variety of fields and disciplines.
The Union Institute and University's Ph.D. program came under scrutiny by the Ohio Board of Regents, culminating in a Reauthorization Report published in 2002. In response to the Report, The Union underwent major academic and structural changes, including dissolution of The Union Graduate School and restructuring of its Ph.D. programs. The Ph.D. in Arts and Sciences, for example, was redesigned to a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies, with four majors: Ethical and Creative Leadership, Public Policy and Social Change, Humanities and Culture, and Educational Studies.
Notable alumni
- Tania Aebi, the youngest circumnavigator of the globe by sail (age 18-21); author, Maiden Voyage.
- Rita Mae Brown, poet and author of Rubyfruit Jungle.
- Lisa Crespo, American Needlepoint Guild, Inc., President 2016-2018.
- Danny K. Davis, congressman, Illinois 7th District.
- Lez Edmond Civil Right Activist, Author, and professor at St. John's University.
- Clarissa Pinkola Estés,Jungian analyst and author of Women Who Run With The Wolves.
- Gary Dorrien, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics, Union Theological Seminary, NY.
- Sidney Harman, founder, harman/kardon, Inc. and publisher of Newsweek magazine.
- Gerald Haslam, author, Workin' Man Blues, Straight White Male, Coming of Age in California.
- Carl Hausman, professor of journalism, Rowan University and author of Lies We Live By: Defeating Double-talk and Deception in Advertising, Politics and the Media (Routledge, 2000) and other works.
- Jean Houston, author and lecturer, co-founder of the Foundation for Mind Research.
- Michael T. Klare, professor of Peace and World Security Studies, Hampshire College.
- Bernie Krause, bioacoustics authority.
- Phillip Lopate, film critic, essayist, fiction writer, and poet.
- Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, first female Prime Minister of Jamaica, 2006-2007, 2012-2016.
- Scott D. Miller, President of Virginia Wesleyan University, 2015-present; President of Bethany College, 2007-15; President of Wesley College, 1997-2007; President of Lincoln Memorial University, 1991-97
- Gary Null, Radio personality, AIDS denialist and an anti-vaccinationist.
- Antonia Pantoja, educator, social worker, civil rights leader, and founder of ASPIRA, Boricua College, and Producir.
- George Pruitt, longtime president of Thomas Edison State University.
- Lincoln Ragsdale, member of the Tuskegee Airmen and real estate developer.
- Jane O'Meara Driscoll Sanders, wife of U. S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
- Barbara Vacarr, president of Goddard College, 2010-2013.
- Clayton Valli, poet and linguist.
References
Further reading
- Berry, W. (1987). "The loss of the university." In W. Berry, Home economics (pp. 76-97). New York, NY: North Point Press.
- Black, L.R. (1975). Alternative education and corrections: Some new dimensions. Union Press, Monograph II. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?q=Alternative+education+and+corrections%3a+Some+new+dimensions.+&id=ED107603
- Fairfield, R. (1977). Person-centered graduate education. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus.
- Goodman, P. (1964). Reforms and proposals. In P. Goodman, Compulsory mis-education, and the community of scholars (pp. 295-322). New York, NY: Vintage Books.
- Goetz,nK. (2004, March 27). Union Institute rules get stricter: Financial aid, progress in Ph.D.program documented more closely. The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved from http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/03/27/loc_union27.html
- Hungerford, A. & Fairfield, R. P. (1973). University without walls and Union Graduate School: New frontiers in humane learning. Engineering Education, 63(7), 505-511.
- Jerome, J. (1970). Quality and conscience. In J. Jerome, Culture out of anarchy: The reconstruction of American higher learning (pp. 287-312). New York, NY: Herder and Herder.
- Kirkhorn, M. (1979). Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities: Back from the brink. Change, 11(3), 18-21.
- Peale, C. (2014, April 24). Union Institute did distance learning before it was cool. The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved from http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2014/04/24/union-institute-distance-learning-cool/8117261/
- Ryan, D.P. (n.d.). About the Union Institute. Retrieved from http://community.plu.edu/~ryandp/Union.html
- Sanders, D. P. (1974). School as an experimenting institution: An approach to the reform of secondary education. ERIC, ED093789. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED093789.pdf
- Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities. (1970). University without walls: A proposal for an experimental degree program in undergraduate education. ERIC, ED067064. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED067064
- Union Institute & University (n.d). History. Retrieved from https://www.myunion.edu/about/history/
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