MacMurray College MacMurray College is a career - directed liberal arts college located in Jacksonville , Illinois . Its enrollment in fall 2011 was 548 . It is from Springfield and from Chicago . In its annual rankings of the nation ' s colleges and universities , " Washington Monthly " magazine listed MacMurray No . 14 in the country among more than 300 baccalaureate colleges . The " Washington Monthly " looks at social mobility , research and service to gauge how much the nation ' s colleges and universities give back to the country . History . Although founded in 1846 by a group of Methodist clergy men as the Illinois Conference Female Academy , the first class was not held until 1848 . Since its beginnings , the college has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church . It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education originally for women in the United States . The school was renamed the Illinois Conference Female College in 1851 , with the name changed again to Illinois Female College in 1863 and Illinois Woman ' s College in 1899 . The name was changed to MacMurray College for Women in 1930 to honor James E . MacMurray , who was an Illinois state senator , president of Acme Steel Corporation in Chicago , and college trustee whose commitment led to a substantial increase in the college ' s facilities and endowment in the late 1920s and 1930s . The institution remained an exclusively women ' s college until 1955 , when the trustees established MacMurray College for Men as a coordinate institution . In 1969 , the colleges were reorganized into a single co - educational institution . For the 2009 - 10 year ( released in the fall of 2011 ) , MacMurray College failed passing the Department of Education ' s Financial Responsibility Test . On a scale of minus 1 to 3 . 0 , MacMurray scored a 1 . 4 , with 1 . 5 considered " passing . " MacMurray and 149 other private , nonprofit colleges in the country will be subject to Department financial monitoring due to the test . Colleges that score between 1 . 0 and 1 . 4 are subject to cash monitoring and other oversight . MacMurray ' s score increased from 0 . 9 previous year , when the stock market crash harmed the portfolios of many small colleges , according to news reports . Academics . In the 2010 - 2011 academic year , MacMurray offered a 26 - major , 16 - minor liberal arts curriculum with both Associate ' s and Bachelor ' s degrees . The school reinforces liberal arts with an emphasis on career preparation . Some of the college ' s top majors include nursing , deaf and hard - of - hearing education , criminal justice and social work . MacMurray ’ s deaf education and interpreter programs may benefit from the College ’ s proximity to the Illinois School for the Deaf , also located in Jacksonville . The College has five academic divisions , which combined offer 26 majors and 16 minors . The five divisions are the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences , the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts , the Division of Natural Sciences and Nursing , the Division of Education and the Division of Business and Criminal Justice . The Center for Learning Excellence provides academic support to students outside of the classroom . Center for Learning Excellence staff members are certified by the Kellogg Institute for the Training and Certification of Developmental Educators . MacMurray College was ranked 54 of 200 colleges in the 2011 edition of U . S . News Best Colleges in Regional Colleges ( Midwest ) by U . S . News & World Report . Athletics . MacMurray ' s athletic teams are known as the Highlanders . Teams compete in the NCAA ' s Division III . The football team is part of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference . The College ’ s nine other men ’ s and women ’ s athletic teams compete in the St . Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference . Athletic teams include men ' s baseball , men ' s and women ' s basketball , football , men ' s and women ' s golf , soccer , softball and volleyball . The current athletic director is Dane Pavlovich . He is also the Head Women ' s Basketball Coach . He joined the College in 2010 . He was previously the Associate Athletic Director at Stephens College in Columbia , Missouri . Thirty - five percent of MacMurray students are athletes . MacMurray athletics teams have won 22 conference championships since 1990 . During the past two years , 33 MacMurray players were named to the Academic All - Conference Team , and 38 student - athletes were named to their respective All - Conference teams . In 2011 , the Highlander football team won its last two games after a long drought . The victories were buoyed by 300 - yard passing performances by freshman quarterback Cody Hussey , who was subsequently named the conference offensive player of the week two weeks in a row . The men ' s basketball team finished the 2011 - 12 campaign narrowly missing a win of the conference tournament and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament . The Highlanders lost 58 - 56 to Westminster College on a three - point shot with 1 . 7 seconds remaining in the championship game of the St . Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament . MacMurray College is one of the few institutions to have received the NCAA " death penalty . " In 2005 the men ’ s tennis team was sanctioned and prohibited from play for two years , with post - season play prohibited for a further two seasons , after a coach ' s fund gave over $ 162 , 000 in financial assistance to 10 foreign - born players , in violation of Division III rules prohibiting athletic scholarship s . MacMurray has not had a men ' s tennis program since that time . Campus . The campus covers , and includes the administration building Kathryn Hall , the McClelland Dining Hall , the Annie Merner Chapel , the Henry Pfieffer Library , the educational buildings of MacMurray Hall , Julian Chemistry , the Putnam Center for the Arts , the William H . Springer Center for Music , the Education Complex , the Gordon Facilities building , and the five residence halls of Kendall , Norris , Michalson , Rutledge and Jane . Kendall and Norris were unoccupied during the 2009 - 2010 school year while undergoing renovations that included sprinkler systems and aesthetic improvements . They reopened in the fall of 2010 . More than 30 student - led organizations are active on campus . The College encourages students to be active community members with 84 % involved in community work or volunteering . Career Services facilitates work and internship experience . Over 70 % of students complete internships facilitated by Career Services . In March 2011 , 16 thefts occurred in the residence halls during Spring break . The thefts also included a 600 pound safe stolen from the dining hall . " I think this is a real invasion and violation of the sense of family and friendship at MacMurray , " said Director of Public Relations Ted Roth . " I think the students feel like their privacy was violated . " On June 16 - 17 , 2011 , MacMurray College suffered damage from widespread flooding that affected the entire eastern section of the City of Jacksonville . Several dormitories and the Education Complex ( EC ) were flooded . The Education Complex includes the Wall Gymnasium and the MacMurray swimming pool , which had been closed for maintenance . The college estimated the losses at approximately $ 2 million . On July 26 , President Colleen Hester made a plea to all members of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference of the Methodist Church . This plea asked for funds to help cover the uninsured repair work necessary after the flooding . This includes a new gym floor in the Education Complex .