Governors State University

Governors State University is a public university in University Park, Illinois. The 750 acres campus is located 30 miles south of Chicago, Illinois. GSU was founded in 1969. GSU is a comprehensive public university with a broad curriculum, offering degree programs at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels. GSU has four colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business, the College of Education, and the College of Health and Human Services.

Governors State University was officially established as a state-supported, upper-division institution of higher education on July 17, 1969, when Illinois Governor Richard B. Ogilvie signed into law House Bill 666. Originally scheduled to open to students in September 1973, the four-year planning period was reduced to two years and GSU received its first class of 500 students in September 1971. The university utilized warehouse space as the temporary home during the campus construction. Under the university's first president, William Engbretson, academic staff created an experimental educational environment focused on a collaborative learning environment between students and faculty in class sessions called modules that met for eight-week sessions. GSU was one of the original "Universities without Walls" as well as a university that did not offer grades, but competencies. In place of departments, it had interdisciplinary studies, and all professors held the rank of University Professor.

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