This mission is achieved by providing:
A stair-step curricular progression for students from certificate through diploma, to associate, to bachelor’s, to master’s, to doctoral degrees with credentials earned at each level.
Face-to-face, hybrid, and online learning experiences in an environment enhanced by student services and activities outside the classroom that enable students to take advantage of their interests and abilities to develop teamwork and leadership capabilities.
Faculty members who possess educational, experiential, and distance learning qualifications for the classes they teach and who emphasize the process of learning as well as the assimilation of knowledge and skills.
The use of equipment similar to that used in the professions for which the students are educated.
A university library whose books, periodicals, professional journals, electronic databases, and e-journals adequately support the programs offered.
Undergraduate faculty who understand and use active, collaborative, experiential, and problem-based learning strategies while practicing in live, virtual, and blended environments; and graduate faculty who understand and use these learning strategies while also practicing in a scholarly research environment.
Professional and research-oriented doctoral programs which especially express the university’s commitment to teaching excellence, scholarly research, distance learning, the application of knowledge, civic engagement, and focused service to its various publics.
Graduates earn the privilege to review, audit, or retake any course they completed without additional tuition.
Career Services specialists to assist graduates with their job search at graduation and thereafter as requested.
1962
A. O. Sullivan and his son, A. R. Sullivan, recognize the need for an institution of higher education devoted to the highest ideals and standards in preparing people for successful careers. They found Sullivan Business College, a one-year school of business, to meet that need.
1972
Sullivan receives the authority to award the Associate degree and acquires Louisville Technical Institute which later turns into Sullivan College of Technology and Design.
1973
Bryant and Stratton Business College, whose history dated back to 1864, merges with Sullivan, giving the school a history of over a century of service to the people in the region.
1976
Sullivan makes a major move to its current main campus at the corner of the Watterson Expressway and Bardstown Road. It also changes its name to Sullivan Junior College of Business to better reflect its status as an accredited junior college.
1979
In 1979, Sullivan became the first private career college in the South to receive collegiate accreditation from the prestigious Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) at the Associate degree level.
1982
Sullivan opens its first extension campus on the military post at Ft. Knox, KY, serving the military and civilian population in the area.
1985
Sullivan continues its expansion with the opening of a branch campus in Lexington, KY
1992
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) grants accreditation to Sullivan’s baccalaureate program, giving it the same baccalaureate accreditation as enjoyed by major colleges and universities in the 11-state southern region.
1994
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) extends Sullivan’s accreditation through the year 2006.
1997
In 1997, the University initiated a graduate school offering the Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree at its main campus in Louisville.
1999
The multi-million dollar Sullivan University Library and Learning Resource Center opens. Sullivan acquires a new suburban campus in Lexington for the 1,000+ students attending the college there, and begins offering graduate degree classes at its Lexington campus. In 1999, Sullivan University established an international presence through online education that provides students the opportunity to attend across the globe.
2000
In the Spring of 2000, the institution’s board approved the change of designation from Sullivan College to Sullivan University which officially took place at formal ceremonies on August 2, 2000.
2006
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) extends Sullivan’s accreditation through 2016.
2008
Sullivan University accepts its inaugural class of Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students to provide career opportunities to students and to meet the growing need for pharmacists in the region. To accommodate this new program, an 80,000-square-foot building was purchased, with an addition of a 20,000-square-foot, three-story wing on six acres, adjacent to the Main campus. The University also sends its Culinary students to cook for the United States Olympic athletes at the Olympics in Beijing, China.
2010
Sullivan University welcomes an inaugural class of 11 students to its first Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program in Management. The degree allows students to concentrate some of their studies in Strategic Management, Information Technology (IT) Management, Conflict Management or Human Resource Leadership.
2014
In the summer of 2014, Sullivan University welcomes its inaugural class into the Master of Science Physician Assistant program.
2015
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) extends Sullivan’s accreditation through 2025.
2016
Sullivan expands to Eastern Kentucky and opens the Sullivan University Center for Learning in Louisa, KY, in an effort to provide educational opportunities and promote economic development in the region.
2018
Sullivan University merges with Spencerian College and Sullivan College of Technology and Design, creating a single, stronger university with an expanded course selection and lowered tuition for undergraduate programs.
2019
In 2019, the university opened a Learning Center in Mayfield, KY.
2021
Sullivan University partners with NASA to complete the NASA HUNCH competition; the winning team receives scholarships to the University and their dish is sent to the International Space Station to be eaten by the astronauts.
