Dubuque's Clarke College becoming university

Come Aug. 1, Clarke College will be known as Clarke University.

“By becoming Clarke University, we are publicly and proudly claiming the scope of who we are as an institution,” President Joanne Burrows said Wednesday in announcing the change. “The name change speaks to the Clarke of today and the Clarke of the future.”

The Dubuque school has more than 1,200 students in undergraduate and four graduate programs - master's degrees in nursing, business and education, and a doctoral program in physical therapy. A new doctor of nursing practice degree program is in the planning stages with an accreditation visit anticipated in 2010.

It was founded in 1843 as St. Mary's Female Academy, later becoming St. Joseph's Female Academy on the Prairie, Academy of the Sacred Heart, St. Joseph Academy and Mount St. Joseph Academy. In 1901, the institution became Mount St. Joseph College and in 1928, was named Clarke College in honor of founder Mary Frances Clarke.