Indiana Wesleyan University Dedicates Cleveland Campus

Indiana Wesleyan University dedicated its new Cleveland Education and Conference Center on Sept. 5 with a ceremony and open house. The $6 million facility is located at 4100 Rockside Road in Independence, Ohio.

Independence Mayor Fred Ramos and Christine Conniglio, Executive Director of the Cuyahoga Valley Chamber of Commerce, joined Indiana Wesleyan University President Jim Barnes and other University officials for the dedication.

The 40,000-square-foot building, which includes eight classrooms and several offices, opened in July as a class site for working adults. About 100 students already are attending classes in the building. Eventually, 21 classrooms are planned for the building.

Indiana Wesleyan's five-year goal is to have 1,000 adults enrolled in classes on the Cleveland campus. Between 200 and 300 part-time instructors, most of them drawn from the ranks of working professionals in the Cleveland area, will eventually be recruited as teachers.

Enrollment in Indiana Wesleyan adult program increased 19 percent in the last year.

Dr. Joshua Fischer is the dean of the Cleveland campus. Fischer, a graduate of Oklahoma State University, has spent most of his career in higher education as a faculty member, administrator and consultant to adult-based programs. He recently moved to the Cleveland area from Texas.

The Cleveland campus offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in business, accounting, marketing, business information systems, management, education and nursing. The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is Indiana Wesleyan's largest program -- and has the largest enrollment of any MBA program in Indiana.

Indiana Wesleyan University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. In addition, the nursing program is accredited by the Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education, and the education program is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Indiana Wesleyan's College of Adult and Professional Studies began offering classes in 1985. More than 20,000 adult learners have earned degrees through the program, and about 6,300 students currently are enrolled in classes.

Indiana Wesleyan has four regional campuses in Indiana -- in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Columbus and Kokomo -- and opened its first out-of-state campus two years ago in Louisville, Ky.

Earlier this year, the Ohio Board of Regents approved Indiana Wesleyan's request to open a campus in the Cleveland area.