Union Institute & University


Union Institute & University is an American private research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, that specializes in limited residence and distance learning programs. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and operates satellite campuses in Florida and California.

History

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 for Research and Experimentation in Higher Education, later known as the Union Institute. The "discovery" of the English open education movement may have played a factor in the interest in progressive education.
From its inception, the institution 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. 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 anthropologist and author Margaret Mead was one of the institutions first professors.
Renamed the Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities in 1969, it 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 institution 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.

Acquisition of Vermont College and name changes

The University Without Walls was renamed in 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, the Union Institute was renamed "Union Institute & University".

Academics

Union Institute & University offers BA, BS, MA, MS, and PhD programs in a variety of fields and disciplines.
Union Institute and University's PhD program came under scrutiny by the Ohio Board of Regents, culminating in a reauthorization report published in 2002. In response to the report, Union underwent major academic and structural changes, including dissolution of the Union Graduate School and restructuring of its PhD programs. The PhD in Arts and Sciences, for example, was redesigned to a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies, with four majors: Ethical and Creative Leadership, Public Policy and Social Change, Humanities and Culture, and Educational Studies, and offers a specialization in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Studies.

Notable alumni