Milburn Peter Akers (May 4, 1900 – May 27, 1970), often known as Pete Akers, was a Chicago journalist, chairman of the board of trustees of

McKendree College 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 ...

, and the ninth president of

Shimer College Shimer Great Books School (pronounced ) is a Classic_book#University_programs, Great Books college that is part of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Prior to 2017, Shimer was an independent, accredited college on the south side of ...

. Akers was born in Chicago and graduated from

, of which his great-grandfather had been the first president. In his early life, he worked as a staff reporter for newspapers including the '' Peoria Transcript'' and '' Illinois State Register''. He served as the publicity man for Governor

Henry Horner Henry Horner (November 30, 1878 – October 6, 1940) was an American politician. Horner served as the 28th Governor of Illinois, serving from January 1933 until his death in October 1940. Horner was noted as the first Jewish governor of Illinois ...

from 1937 to Horner's death in 1940. Akers joined the ''

Chicago Sun The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'', later the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', shortly after its founding in 1941. He became executive editor of the ''Sun-Times'' in 1950, rising from the position of managing editor; his position became simply "editor" after the departure of

Marshall Field III Marshall Field III (September 28, 1893 – November 8, 1956) was an American investment banker, publisher, racehorse owner/breeder, philanthropist, grandson of businessman Marshall Field, heir to the Marshall Field department store fortune, a ...

from that position. After retiring from the paper in 1965, he became an important figure in Illinois higher education due in part to his political ties. From 1965 to 1967 he served as president of the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities. In 1968, Akers was appointed president of Shimer College following the resignation of

Francis Joseph Mullin Francis Joseph Mullin (December 16, 1906 – February 13, 1997), also often known as F.J. Mullin or Joe Mullin, was an American academic and the seventh president of Shimer College. He was raised Catholic Church, Catholic, but became an Episcop ...

in the aftermath of the Grotesque Internecine Struggle. On May 27, 1970, Akers was killed in a head-on collision with a truck south of

Hopedale, Illinois Hopedale is a village in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 865 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is also home to a small number of restaurants, general stores ...

. He had been traveling to

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

to lobby for a law providing greater aid to small

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...

s such as Shimer.

Notes

See also