Campus News

Media Contact – Rita Elliottt, Director of Communications, 815-226-3374

Rockford, Ill., – Belinda Wholeben, Ed.D., will serve as the interim vice president of academic affairs and provost at Rockford University,
filling the positionformerly held by Steven F. Siconolfi, Ph.D., FACSM who accepted a position with Mansfield College in Mansfield, Penn., in May. Dr. Siconolfi served as the head academic affairs officer and provost since joining the University in early 2012.

Dr. Wholeben earned her B.A. in Elementary Education from North Central College and her M.S. Ed. and Ed.D. in Educational Psychology from Northern Illinois University. Dr. Wholeben joined Rockford University in 1994 and has gone on to serve in a wide variety of teaching and leadership positions throughout the University including founding director of the Jane Addams Center for Civic Engagement, project co-chair of the Rockford College Higher Learning Commission Self-Study for Accreditation, twice chair of the Psychology Department, faculty trustee,
and a member of numerous faculty and University committees.

Beyond the University, Dr. Wholeben remains active in the community and provides counsel to area institutions and organizations. She is currently a member of the Rock Valley College institutional review board, is secretary of the Shelter Care Ministries Board of Directors, serving as the organizations Vice President and chair of the Human Resources Committee from 2011-2015. Additionally, Dr. Wholeben is a member of several professional associations and remains active in research, presentations, grant reviews, and student research support.

Dr. Wholeben will oversee the Academic Affairs division of the University for the 2015-2016 academic year. A national search for the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost will begin in late 2015.

Rockford University is a four-year, co-educational institution founded in 1847 offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in traditional liberal arts and professional fields. The University offers approximately 80 majors, minors and concentrations, including the adult accelerated degree completion program for a B.S. in Management Studies. Through its Graduate Studies department, degrees are extended to include the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT). Rockford University is home to one of only 11 Phi Beta Kappa (PBK) chapters in Illinois, the most prestigious honor society in the United States. Named by The Princeton Review as a Best Midwestern College and as a Tier One Best Midwestern University by US News and World Report, Rockford University currently serves approximately 1,280 full-and part-time students. The University is also noted as the alma mater of 1882 graduate and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jane Addams.