The tradition of learning and enlightenment embodied by Dunlap-Stone University (DSU) reaches back to the beginning of the 20th century when a young school teacher, Sue Marie Stone, a new graduate of the Northwestern Oklahoma Teachers College (now NW Oklahoma State University) accepted a position as the sole teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming. She brought with her a love of learning and shared her passion with the children of early settlers in their remote and isolated community.While still a teacher, she married Emmett Merle Dunlap.
Emmett Merle Dunlap, a civil engineer on assignment in Wyoming, who designed and built bridges and dams for the U.S. Corps of Engineers across the western U.S. Their union began a partnership for life, fostering a passion for learning and knowledge in their children and grandchildren, one of whom, Dr. Donald N. Burton, founded the International Import-Export Institute in 1995.
Formed through the partnership of professors and administrators at a Phoenix-based higher education provider, Dr. Donald Burton, and a handful of others (including online education pioneer Dr. Gerry Bedore, Sr.) wanted to bring professional credentials to the international trade community. This was done through the establishment of specific standards and bodies of knowledge that were assessed through exams. The industry was at a turning point: what were once clerical positions were becoming professionalized. There was a need for individuals to distinguish themselves in the job market and companies needed verification of candidates’ skills.
IIEI was licensed as a private post-secondary institution in 2002 in the state of Arizona. At that time, IIEI offered a single degree-completion program: a Bachelor’s in International Trade Management and a handful of vocational certificate programs that culminated in the certification exams that had inspired the institution’s creation. IIEI was initially accredited in 2003 by (then) DETC. By 2008, the decision was made to expand the program offerings and the university was rebranded as Dunlap-Stone University in order to better reflect the broader mission. The certification testing body was spun off as its own separate nonprofit entity and retained the certification exams. DSU remains an approved provider for training for the certification exams around the world.
With this rich history, DSU will continue the tradition of bringing education to those normally considered too distant or remote to receive a quality education. DSU resolves to serve as the bedrock for life-long learning and higher education to people throughout the world who thirst for knowledge. Through its various embodied schools and programs, DSU provides a wide variety of disciplined distance learning programs.
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