Midstate College is a small, private vocational school

Vocational school

A vocational school , providing vocational education, is a school in which students are taught the skills needed to perform a particular job...

 and proprietary college in Peoria

Peoria, Illinois

Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

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History

Midstate College's origins date back to 1857, when a commercial school was started in Peoria. In 1865, a similar school opened, and the two schools combined in 1868. In 1888, the merged school was bought by George W. Brown, principal of Jacksonville Business College, and named Brown's Business College of Commerce.

In 1902, a new building was completed at 240 South (now Southwest) Jefferson Street, on the corner of Jefferson and Harrison Streets downtown, and Brown's Business College moved into the second and third floors.

Over time, Mr. Brown increased his properties to 20 institutions, including Cairo

Cairo, Illinois

Cairo is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the county seat of Alexander County. Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The rivers converge at Fort Defiance State Park, an American Civil War fort that was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant...

, Decatur

Decatur, Illinois

Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...

, Jacksonville

Jacksonville, Illinois

Jacksonville is a city in Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,940 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Morgan County....

 and Rockford

Rockford, Illinois

Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...

 in Illinois; Davenport

Davenport, Iowa

Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...

 and Muscatine, Iowa

Muscatine, Iowa

Muscatine is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 22,886 in the 2010 census, an increase from 22,697 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Muscatine County...

; and St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

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Mr. Brown continued ownership of the Peoria school until 1913, then sold it to a Mr. Reed. Reed sold the school in 1960 to A.R. Beard, Don Beard, and Arline H. Bunch, who renamed the school Midstate College of Commerce. In 1965, the Bunch family purchased the stock, and renamed the school to simply Midstate College in 1970. R. Dale Bunch became president around 1965.

In October 1997, Midstate moved from its 95-year-old downtown location to 411 West Northmoor Road, near the corner of Northmoor Road and Knoxville Avenue (Illinois Route 40

Illinois Route 40

Illinois Route 40 is a north–south route in central portion of the U.S. state of Illinois. It runs from Interstate 74 in East Peoria north to Illinois Route 78 at Mt. Carroll, just south of U.S. Route 52 and Illinois Route 64. This is a distance of ....

). The downtown building was bought by a developer, was renovated, and became known as the Prairie Building in 1998.

In November 1999, Midstate was approved as a four-year institution and began offering a Bachelor of Business Administration

Bachelor of Business Administration

The Bachelor of Business Administration is a bachelor's degree in Commerce and business administration. In most universities, the degree is conferred upon a student after four years of full-time study in one or more areas of business concentrations; see below...

 degree; other bachelor degrees have been added since. The Arline H. Bunch Business Center opened in January 2002.

Bunch's daughter, Meridith N. Bunch, became college president in November 2010; R. Dale Bunch remained chairman of the board

Chairman of the Board

The Chairman of the Board is a seat of office in an organization, especially of corporations.Chairman of the Board may also refer to:*Chairman of the Board , a 1998 film*Chairmen of the Board , a 1970s American soul music group...

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