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thePeorian.com
The Present
M
idstate College isn’t for
everyone. Then again,
this private college
that offers non-traditional, post-
secondary education doesn’t try
to be.
That is why, said college Presi-
dent Meredith Bunch, Midstate
succeeds. “We are just what our
students need us to be,” said
Bunch, who succeeded her father
as president of the college that
started in a small space in down-
town Peoria and now has a small
campus on Northmoor Road.
“
Midstate caters to adult learn-
ers. We try to accommodate their
lives through our robust pro-
grams. We have classes during
the day, at night or online. Many
of our students choose to do a
combination of those. Whatever
we can make work best for their
needs,” Bunch said.
A non-traditional college with
non-traditional learners is a good
way to describe Midstate College,
she added. “Most of our students
are not coming to us straight
from high school. As I said, we
cater to adult learners and that
is a good thing for what we do
because we’ve found through
125
years of training adults that
adults see to be more serious
about their education, about why
they are here focusing on improv-
ing their lives,” she said.
At Midstate a student can earn
a diploma, a two-year associate’s
degree or a bachelor’s degree
in a limited number of fields.
While the number of majors may
be limited, Bunch said Midstate
works to make sure they are the
fields where jobs can be found,
where well-trained and educated
workers are needed. That’s what
Midstate produces, she added.
“
We stay current with the edu-
cation and employment trends so
our graduates come away from
her with the skills and tools they
need to get a job. We have very
high standards here and we ex-
pect a lot from our students. Em-
ployers, as a result, have come to
expect a lot from our graduates,”
she said. “Our job is to prepare
them for a meaningful career.”
Midstate began as a business
college. In fact many Peorians
will remember it started as
Brown’s Business College, when
it occupied space in a downtown
building on Jefferson Avenue.
Then owned by G.W. Brown,
the school offered classes is such
business applications as account-
ing and management.
Those remain today.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 32
MIDSTATE COLLEGE
Fulfilling specific needs for specific students
by Paul Gordon
