Date: February 20, 2007
Contact: Eric Matanyi
Governors State University
Phone: (708) 534-4044
Fax: (708) 534-8399
Email: e-matanyi@govst.edu
For Immediate Release
University Park, Illinois, February 20, 2007 – Governors State University recently opened its new Naperville Education Center (NEC). The NEC, located on 95th Street in south Naperville, is ideally suited to serve students from throughout the western and southwest suburbs. The center will officially open on March 1.
John Stoll, Dean of GSU’s University College which oversees the site, is excited about the prospect of serving a new region. “GSU is unique in its mission to provide working adults with an affordable and accessible option for higher education,” he said. “The growth from Joliet to Aurora and from Lockport to Bolingbrook is immense.”
Because GSU is an upper-division (junior and senior level) baccalaureate and graduate level university, the new center will allow the university to better serve community college students in the area as well.
“Many of our students already come from two year schools in that area,” Stoll notes. “The Naperville Education Center will provide students from Joliet Junior College, Waubonsee College, and College of DuPage with an excellent option for higher education close to home.”
Transfer agreements with JJC, Waubonsee, and COD enable students to make a smooth transition between their first two years at community college and the remaining two at GSU.
While the NEC does not yet offer the full array of GSU program options, it is building its schedule with a bachelor’s degree program in Criminal Justice and courses in Communications, which will begin during the Spring/Summer trimester. In the fall of 2007, a bachelor’s degree program in Psychology will be offered. A master’s level cohort program in Educational Administration (Illinois type 75 certificate) will begin recruitment efforts, with classes tentatively scheduled to begin during the Winter 2008 trimester. Special interest workshops will also be offered in the future, to enhance the course offerings.
The Naperville Education Center is located at 2244 W. 95th St, Naperville, Illinois, in the Fry Properties building next to the YMCA. For more information, call (708) 534-4099 or visit www.govst.edu/nec.
