Robert Spencer Long (June 1927 in Chicago – December 25, 2015 in San Francisco), was a professor of physical science and the tenth 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 ...

. Long was born on the north side of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and graduated from

Roger C. Sullivan High School Sullivan High School is a public four-year high school located in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Sullivan is a part of the Chicago Public Schools district. Opened in 1926, the school is named ...

in the

Rogers Park Rogers Park is the first of Chicago's 77 community areas. Located from the Loop, it is on the city's far north side on the shore of Lake Michigan. The neighborhood is commonly known for its cultural diversity, lush green public spaces, early ...

neighborhood in 1945. After serving three years in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, he studied at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, where he obtained a BA in 1951, a master of science in 1955, and a Ph.D. in

geochemistry Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the e ...

in 1964. He subsequently taught at

Nasson College Nasson College was a private four-year accredited liberal arts college in Springvale, Maine, USA. Established in , the college operated until . History The college was founded in 1912 as the Nasson Institute and changed its name twenty-three yea ...

in Maine,

New College of Florida New College of Florida is a public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded in 1960 as a private institution known simply as New College, spent several years merged into the University of South Florida, and in 2001 became an aut ...

, and at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

before becoming Dean at Roger Williams College. Long assumed the position of President of Shimer College on June 3, 1970, shortly after previous president

Milburn Akers 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, and the ninth president of Shimer College. Akers was born in Chicago and graduate ...

was killed in car accident. He took control of a college with rapidly dropping enrolment and rising debt, problems which continued to worsen throughout his tenure. Long increased gift income to $300,000 per year, but this was not sufficient to counteract the financial problems. In November 1973, the Board of Trustees announced that Shimer would close at the end of the year. Although an emergency fundraising campaign by faculty and students kept the college open, Long resigned at the end of 1973. He publicly stated that the college would be unable to survive. Long later worked for 18 years at the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

in Washington, DC. He spent his retirement years in San Francisco. He died at the age of 88 on December 25, 2015, surrounded by family.

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See also