The City of Rockford
Rockford University’s hometown is Rockford, Illinois, a metropolitan area of approximately 375,000 people situated along the Rock River, midway between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi.
The city offers a rich cultural life with resident dance and theater companies, several choral organizations, the Rockford Symphony Orchestra, and numerous museums, including: Rockford Art Museum; Burpee Museum of Natural History, home to “Jane,” a celebrated and rare juvenile T. Rex dinosaur; Discovery Center, ranked one of the nation’s top museums for children; Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Gardens, featuring one of the finest collections of conifers outside Europe; and Anderson Japanese Gardens, recognized as one of the very finest Japanese Gardens in North America. Art exhibits, festivals and live performances are scheduled year-round, and the Rock River provides a wealth of recreational venues in all seasons.
Rockford also has professional sports, including semi-professional teams in ice hockey (American Hockey League), baseball (Northwoods League), NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing (Rockford Speedway) and so many fairways that Golf Digest has called Rockford the nation’s best mid-size city for golf. The local parks system – a model for many other cities – includes a water park, paved bike and jogging trails and more than a dozen public and private golf courses. For University students, Rockford offers jobs, internships and service opportunities, plus scores of restaurants, theaters, clubs, coffeehouses, museums, gardens, and galleries.
Rockford is a 1-2 hour drive from Chicago, Madison, and Milwaukee, with easy access to interstate highways and tollways. Locally, the Chicago Rockford International Airport provides regular flights to a variety of destinations, primarily other small cities. Chicago O’Hare International Airport is just an hour away by car, and bus service between Rockford and O’Hare is readily available. Chicago Midway airport is about 2 hours away and also enjoys bus service from Rockford.