page_title: History of Shimer College
section_title: Relationship with the University of Chicago: Frances Shimer Academy and Junior College
hierarchical_section_title: History of Shimer College / Relationship with the University of Chicago: Frances Shimer Academy and Junior College
caption_attribution_description: English: Metcalf Hall on the former Shimer College campus in Mount Carroll, Illinois, built in 1908 and now part of the Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies.
context_page_description: Shimer College was founded in 1852, when the pioneer town of Mt. Carroll, Illinois, lacking a public school, incorporated the Mt. Carroll Seminary with no land, no teachers, and no money for this purpose.
  Founded as non-denominational, it was affiliated with Baptists from 1896 into the 1950s, and subsequently with The Episcopal Church between 1959 and 1973, after which it became non-denominational once again.
  Shimer has evolved over time from a coeducational seminary to a women's seminary, a women's academy, a women's junior college, a women's college, and finally a coeducational Great Books college.
  Throughout its existence, it has been involved a series of crises and profound changes. Because of this, the college is often symbolized by a phoenix which is reborn from its own ashes. Crises throughout Shimer's history have included three abandonments of the college by its board in 1855, 1973 and 1977; a catastrophic fire in 1906; bankruptcies in 1974 and 1977; and struggles over governance in 1966 and 2010.
  Faculty and students have historically worked together to keep the college viable.
context_section_description: On July 1, 1896, Frances Shimer transferred control of the seminary to a 15-member Board of Trustees, under an affiliation with the University of Chicago.  The school at the time had an estimated value of $250,000. The affiliation related primarily to educational standards, and did not include any financial support.  Shimer then became known as the Frances Shimer Academy of the University of Chicago.  Shimer also adopted the University of Chicago's affiliation with the Baptist denomination, and required that at least two-thirds of the Board be members of a Baptist church.  The membership of the Board was divided equally among representatives of the University of Chicago, graduates of the Mount Carroll Seminary, and citizens of Mount Carroll.
  Having completed the affiliation arrangements, Frances Shimer, in ill health, then retired to Florida where she took up orange growing.  In 1897, her place as the executive of the college was taken by Dean William Parker McKee, who served until 1930.  Like most Shimer executives throughout the school's history, McKee was also an instructor, teaching history.  Frances Shimer died on November 10, 1901, and her body was returned to Mount Carroll for burial.
  Under the terms of the affiliation, academics were kept to University of Chicago standards, so that students left the academy and junior college prepared to continue their studies at any university in the country.  Examinations were held at the University of Chicago campus in Hyde Park. However, the academic relationship faded over subsequent decades, until it was restored in 1950.  The academy was accredited by the North Central Association in 1909, and the junior college was accredited in 1920.
  Throughout this period, the College was governed by a chief executive overseen by the Board of Trustees; McKee, the first chief executive, was known as "Dean", but the subsequent executives were known as "President".  McKee was followed as Dean by Floyd Cleveland Wilcox, who served from 1930 to 1935, and Raymond B. Culver, who served from 1936 to 1938.   Albin C. Bro held the presidency from 1939 to 1949.  In 1942, the college dropped the "junior" from its name and became "Frances Shimer College."
  In the late 1890s and early 20th century, enrollment rose steadily.  To accommodate this, the board ordered new construction on the campus, of the South Hall (1899), Dearborn Hall (1903) for music, and Hathaway Hall (1904).
  On February 9, 1906, a fire destroyed much of the campus, including South Hall and all of the buildings that had been part of the Mount Carroll Seminary.  An emergency fundraising drive was launched which secured $50,000 to rebuild the campus. The campus was rebuilt with more modern and fireproof brick buildings, West Hall (1906) and Metcalf Hall (1908).
  In 1909, a College Hall was erected on the campus, and a junior college program was formally begun.  In that year the enrollment was the highest on record.  The school had already been providing college-type instruction since 1907. The first junior college class graduated in 1910.  The name of the college was changed from "Frances Shimer Academy" to "Frances  Shimer School" in 1910.  At this time, the school offered two separate courses of study: a 4-year academy course equivalent to high school, and the 2-year junior college course.  As the academy was phased out, the name of the school was changed again to "Frances Shimer Junior College" in 1932.
  In the 1940s, the college faced difficulties with both enrollment and finances.  By 1949, enrollment had fallen to 65 students and the college was $80,000 in debt. Donations from graduates were slight, as students of the junior college would typically go on to another college, marry a graduate of another college, or both.
caption: Metcalf Hall, constructed in 1908.
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