MacMurray College

This article is about the college in Jacksonville, Illinois. For McMurry University in Abilene, Texas, see McMurry University.

MacMurray College
Established	1846
Type	Private
President	Dr. Colleen Hester
Undergraduates	548.
Location	Jacksonville, Illinois, USA
Campus	Rural
Colors	Scarlet and navy
Mascot	Highlander
Affiliations	United Methodist Church
Website	www.mac.edu

MacMurray College is a career-directed liberal arts college located in Jacksonville, Illinois. Its enrollment in fall 2011 was 548. It is 30 miles (48 km) from Springfield and 235 miles (378 km) 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 clergymen 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.

In a report covering the 2008-09 year, MacMurray College, along with 148 colleges and universities in the country, failed the Financial Responsibility Test administered through the Department of Education. For some, the stock market decline that year was the main culprit: "For 2009, several of the nonprofit institutions said their presence on the list was due chiefly to steep declines in their endowment values." MacMurray's composite score dropped from 1.4 in 2008 to 0.9. Those with scores below 1.0 are required to post a letter of credit with the department equal to 10 percent of the federal student aid that goes to their students annually.

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.

In November, 2010 the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) assessed 111 education programs throughout Illinois. Of the schools, 59 were scored as "unacceptably low". Including schools, which the report notes, have a reputation of excellence. MacMurray College’s education program was found to be “weak.” The College received a grade of “D minus” in Elementary Teacher Education and a grade of “F” in Special Education Teacher Preparation from the study. According to the college's self reports, 97 percent of MacMurray education graduates passed the Illinois certification exam in 2010. To quote the assessment report on MacMurray: “There are critical elements of this program's design that are in need of very significant improvement. Specifically, reading and mathematics preparation are extremely weak, the institution does not play a pivotal role in the selection of cooperating teachers for student teachers, and the institution fails to ensure that special education teacher candidates receive the liberal arts education that best equips them to assist in teaching the Illinois K-9 curriculum.” The validity of the report, and especially its methodology, has been widely criticized by teachers groups and educators. NCTQ surveyed online syllabi and textbooks at the various colleges and compared them to “‘standards’ that were neither research-based nor representative of any established consensus,” according to the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, an industry advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. Some K-12 education administrators will take the report into consideration when hiring decisions are made. "Controversy aside, some school superintendents said they would consider the findings when hiring new teachers."

In March 2011, 16 robberies 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."

In fiscal year 2010, MacMurray College, along with 149 other nonprofit institutions in the nation failed the Department of Education Financial Responsibility test.

“Financial-responsibility scores, which are derived from the audited financial statements that colleges submit annually to the department, are supposed to offer a broad measure of colleges' financial health. By placing restrictions on failing programs, the department seeks to protect students and taxpayers from colleges at risk of financial collapse,” stated the Chronicle of Higher Education, which released the data in its October 12, 2011 online edition.

MacMurray scored an almost passing 1.4 on a scale that runs from -1.0 to 3.0. All schools with a score of less than 1.o must post a letter of credit representing 10% of total federal student aid. MacMurray is no longer required to post this letter of credit. Over the past 4 years that data has been publically available, MacMurray College has never passed the financial responsibility test.

Athletics

MacMurray's athletics 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 Colombia, Missouri.

Thirty-five percent of 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.

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 that, 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 scholarships. MacMurray has not had a men's tennis program since then.

Campus

The campus covers 60 acres (240,000 m²), 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.

On June 16-17, 2011, MacMurray College suffered damage from widespread flooding that affected the entire eastern section of the City of Jacksonville. Several dorms 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 estimates the losses at approximately $2 million. On July 26th, 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. President Hester assured the community that the repairs would be done prior to the arrival of students at the end of August. As of July 26th, she said the college expected to meet its enrollment goals for the fall, but declined to discuss details.

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.

Notable alumni

• Elaine Alquist — California State Senator
• Nina Burleigh — writer
• Judy Collins — singer, songwriter, musician
• Christine Ebersole — actress
• R. Thomas Flynn — college administrator: dean at Rutgers University; president of Monroe Community College
• Al Lewis — columnist: Dow Jones newswires
• Olindo Mare — football kicker: Carolina Panthers
• Larry J. McKinney — federal judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana

External links

• MacMurray College