MacMurray College was a

private college Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grants. D ...

Jacksonville, Illinois Jacksonville is a city in Morgan County, Illinois, Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,446 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Morgan County. It is home to Illinois College, Illinois School for the Deaf, and the ...

. Its enrollment in fall 2015 was 570. Founded in 1846, the college closed in May 2020. Annie merner

History

Although founded in 1846 by a group of

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

men as the Illinois Conference Female Academy, the first class was not held until 1848. Since its beginnings, the college was affiliated with the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

. It was one of the oldest institutions of higher education originally for women in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. 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 The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the I ...

, 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 Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male stud ...

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 Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

institution. This reorganization helped make a larger enrollment overall. However David Jesse of ''

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'' wrote that for much of its history in the 20th century, the 2000s, and 2010s, the college had an unstable financial situation. Its height of enrollment was more than 1,500 students. In the 1990s it had more students than

Illinois College Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois, but the first to grant a degree ( ...

, but later its enrollment and finances declined.

Finances and closure

MacMurray struggled financially in its final years, having failed the U.S. Department of Education's annual financial responsibility test in 2011, 2012, and 2013. In 2016, it was placed on probation for a two-year period by its accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission, which cited "concerns related to governance, assessment of student learning, institutional resources, planning, and performance improvement." By the start of the 2018-2019 academic year, MacMurray's finances had worsened and the college was pursuing different strategies to resolve them. Proposals included expanding professional and nontraditional programs and a merger with another institution. On March 27, 2020, MacMurray announced its plans to close at the end of the spring semester in May 2020. The college cited "declining enrollments, rising competitive costs, and an insufficient endowment," as well as the

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education The COVID-19 pandemic affected educational systems worldwide. Most governments decided to temporarily close educational institutions in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19. As of , approximately learners were affected due to school ...

. Arrangements were made to transfer the continuing student body to

Blackburn College Blackburn College may refer to: * Blackburn College (Blackburn with Darwen), United Kingdom * Blackburn College (Illinois) Blackburn College is a private college in Carlinville, Illinois. It was established in 1837 and named for the Gideon Blac ...

Eureka College Eureka College is a private liberal arts college in Eureka, Illinois, that is related by covenant to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Enrollment in 2018 was approximately 567 students. Eureka College was the third college in the Unite ...

Greenville University Greenville University is a private university in Greenville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church. Established as Greenville College in 1892, the institution was renamed Greenville University in 2017. History In 1855, Stephe ...

McKendree University McKendree University (McK) is a private university in Lebanon, Illinois. Founded in 1828 as the Lebanon Seminary, it is the oldest college or university in Illinois. McKendree enrolls approximately 2,300 undergraduates and nearly 700 graduate ...

Millikin University Millikin University is a private university in Decatur, Illinois. It was founded in 1901 by prominent Decatur businessman James Millikin and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Media Decaturian The ''Decaturian'', also known as ...

, and

Monmouth College Monmouth College is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Monmouth, Illinois. Monmouth enrolls approximately 900 students from 21 countries who choose courses from 40 major programs, 43 minors, and 17 pre-professional programs in a c ...

. No severance were provided to faculty and staff, who worked their last day on May 25, 2020. In November 2020, the real property of the college was auctioned off in lots, with the $1,500,000 in sales going to pay down the college's debt.

Reputation and rankings

MacMurray College was accredited from 1909 through 2014 by the

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It w ...

, initially as the Illinois Women's College to 1930, and then as MacMurray. After the North Central Association dissolved in 2014, MacMurray's institutional accreditation was through the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

. MacMurray College was ranked 63 of 200 colleges in the 2013 edition of U.S. News Best Colleges in Regional Colleges (Midwest) by U.S. News & World Report. MacMurray had been ranked a Top 20 School in ''Washington Monthly'' magazine's ratings of colleges's "contribution to the public good", placing No. 14 in the nation in 2011 and No. 18 in 2013 among baccalaureate colleges, before falling to 80 in 2014 due to septic issues.

Academics

In the 2013–14 academic year, MacMurray offered a 26-major, 16-minor liberal arts curriculum with associate, bachelor, master and doctoral degrees. The school reinforces the liberal arts with an emphasis on professional preparation through academic majors that are career-focused. Some of the college's top majors include

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...

homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

and hard-of-hearing education and American Sign Language interpreting, teacher preparation and

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

. MacMurray's deaf education and interpreter programs benefit from the College's proximity to the

Illinois School for the Deaf The Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD), located in Jacksonville, Illinois, is a state-operated pre-kindergarten, elementary and high school for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. ISD uses both English and American Sign Language American Sign Langu ...

, also located in Jacksonville. Beginning with the fall semester of 2014, MacMurray began offering online degrees in business administration and homeland security. Business administration offers concentrations in organizational leadership, entrepreneurship, human resource management, supply chain management, marketing and management. The homeland security major offers concentrations in counterterrorism, cyber security, emergency management and intelligence. However, later in the fall of 2014, MacMurray announced it would phase out ten majors or minors with low enrollment and interest among prospective students, including history, English, Spanish, physical education, philosophy/religion and a chemistry minor. The Center for Learning Excellence provided 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. Jesse stated that the nursing program was "strong".

Student body

Jesse stated that MacMurray students tended to be "

blue collar A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...

" and studied less highly paid majors than those at Illinois College, with this contributing to the school's woes as it could not get the needed donations from alumni.

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 2009–10 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. rochureMacMurray College 2010–2011 Profile (2010) Career Services facilitates work and internship experience. Over 70% of students complete internships facilitated by Career Services. 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 included a new gym floor in the Education Complex. The fitness center was in the former Franklin Elementary School, purchased by MacMurray in 2017.

Athletics

MacMurray's athletic teams were known as the Highlanders. Teams competed in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

. The football team was part of the

Upper Midwest Athletic Conference The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) is a college-level athletic conference. The UMAC is a conference of NCAA Division III since the 2008–09 season. Prior to that, it was a non scholarship conference affiliated with National Association ...

(UMAC). The college's other teams competed in the

St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) is an NCAA Division III collegiate athletic conference in the Midwestern and SouthernUnited States. There are 9 full member institutions as of 2022. History Chronological timeline Sour ...

(SLIAC). Athletic teams included baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball and women's volleyball, and men's and women's wrestling. Thirty-five percent of MacMurray students were athletes. 45 MacMurray players were named to the Academic All-Conference Team, and 36 student-athletes were named to their respective All-Conference teams. In 2012, the Highlanders men's basketball team narrowly missed winning the SLIAC conference tournament and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament. MacMurray lost 58-56 to Westminster College on a three-point shot with 1.7 seconds remaining in the championship game. MacMurray College was 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 coach and mathematics professor Neal Hart—with the knowledge of MacMurray's athletics director, and directors of financial aid and finance—gave over $162,000 in financial assistance from a fund established by his father to 10 foreign-born players, in violation of

rules prohibiting

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

s. MacMurray never had a men's tennis team after that time. In 2016, the school announced the return of its wrestling team after a ten-year hiatus. The school also announced the addition of a women's program and both programs began competition in the 2016–17 season. In 2016, Evan Bolwerk scored 3 goals against Eureka College. He would lead the soccer team in goals that season. The athletic department ended in March 2020 when the college announced closure at the conclusion of the academic year. College officials cited the on-going

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

and resulting economic disruption factors that hastened the decision based on MacMurray's continued financial struggles.

Notable alumni

Elaine Alquist Elaine Kontominas Alquist (born August 21, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois) is a former Democratic state senator from California's 13th Senate District. Prior to serving in the Senate, she served in the California State Assembly for six years. The ...

, 1966 —

California State Senator The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

Raymond Bonner Raymond Bonner (born April 11, 1942) is an American author and investigative reporter who has been a staff writer at ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'' and has contributed to ''The New York Review of Books''. His latest book, ''Anatomy of ...

, 1964 — investigative journalist and author * Deborah J. Curtis - president, Indiana State University *

Nina Burleigh Nina D. Burleigh is an American writer and investigative journalist, the daughter of author Robert Burleigh. She writes books, articles, essays and reviews. Burleigh is a supporter of secular liberalism, and is known for her interest in issues of ...

, 1982 — writer *

Frank Carter Frank Carter may refer to: *Frank Carter (American football) (born 1977), American football player *Frank Carter (diver) (born 1942), British Olympic diver *Frank Carter (murderer) (1881–1927), Irish-born sniper murderer in Omaha, Nebraska *Frank ...

, 1999 — indoor football player *

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...

— four-time

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-nominated singer, songwriter, musician *

Christine Ebersole Christine Ebersole (born February 21, 1953) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in film, television, and on stage. She starred in the Broadway musicals '' 42nd Street'' and ''Grey Gardens'', winning two Tony Awards. She has co-s ...

, BA 1971, PhD hon, 2002 — two-time

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

-winning actress * Catherine Petroski, BA 1961, DLit hon, 1984, author, journalist * R. Thomas Flynn, 1964 — college administrator: dean at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

; president of

Monroe Community College Monroe Community College is a Public college, public community college in Monroe County, New York. It is part of the State University of New York. The college has two campuses; the main campus in the Brighton, Monroe County, New York, town of B ...

*Rick Hall, 1981 — actor, writer, producer *

Sophronia Farrington Naylor Grubb Sophie Naylor Grubb (, Naylor; November 28, 1834 – November 5, 1902) was a 19th-century American activist. During the civil war, she began to manifest the ability, energy and enthusiasm for activism that distinguished her through life. She publi ...

, late 1850s — activist * Al Lewis, 1984 — columnist:

Dow Jones newswires Dow Jones & Company, Inc. is an American publishing firm owned by News Corp and led by CEO Almar Latour. The company publishes ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''Barron's'', '' MarketWatch'', ''Mansion Global'', ''Financial News'' and ''Private E ...

Olindo Mare Olindo Franco Mare (born June 6, 1973) is a former American football placekicker. He was originally signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 1996. He played college football at MacMurray College and Syracuse Orange#Football, S ...

— football kicker:

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

* Larry J. McKinney, 1966 — federal judge,

United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (in case citations, S.D. Ind.) is a federal district court in Indiana. It was created in 1928 by an act of Congress that split Indiana into two separate districts, northern an ...

* Patricia S. Morehead - Nebraska state legislator and educator * Martha Capps Oliver (1845–1917), poet, hymnwriter * George Whitmore, 1967 — author *

Cat Zingano Cathilee Deborah "Cat" Zingano (née Albert; born July 1, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist, currently signed to Bellator MMA, competing in the Women's Featherweight division. Zingano also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...

— All-American wrestler; professional

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

fighter, currently competing in the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

's bantamweight division * Fjeril Hess, 1915 - author of popular

young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

autofiction In literary criticism, autofiction is a form of fictionalized autobiography. Autofiction combines two mutually inconsistent narrative forms, namely autobiography and fiction. An author may decide to recount their life in the third person, to mod ...

, influential

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

secretary in newly formed

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

(at a time when Czech women could vote unlike American women), and ostensible lyricist of the popular camp round, "Above a Plain" also known as "Ifca's Castle".

References

External links

MacMurray College
— official website *
Archives & Collections
— contains links to several off-site online sources of MacMurray archives; also a
Internet Archive Wayback Machine copy

Online archives

* — includes yearbooks (''Illiwoco'' and ''Tartan''), ''College Greetings'' student newspaper/magazine, and early issues of ''Jubilee Greetings'' * Collections at CARLI *
Digital Images (MacMurray College)
*
Alumnae News (MacMurray College)
— ''Alumni News & Record'' from August 1922 to November 1926 *
Madrigals and Choir Audio Collection (MacMurray College)
*
Jacksonville Collection (MacMurray College)
— various Jacksonville local publications from the college archives *
IGRC Archives (MacMurray College)
— archives of records from closed churches in the

Central Illinois Conference and successor Illinois Great Rivers Conference
MacMurray College Digital Collection
at the

OCLC OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...

CONTENTdm — small number of Special Collection scrapbooks and mementos {{DEFAULTSORT:Macmurray College 1846 establishments in Illinois Educational institutions established in 1846 Buildings and structures in Morgan County, Illinois Education in Morgan County, Illinois Liberal arts colleges in Illinois Methodism in Illinois Educational institutions disestablished in 2020 Tourist attractions in Morgan County, Illinois Universities and colleges affiliated with the United Methodist Church 2020 disestablishments in Illinois Private universities and colleges in Illinois Jacksonville, Illinois