Jump to content

Lake Forest College

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Wpittinos (talk | contribs) at 21:25, 15 February 2008. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Lake Forest College
File:Lake Forest College logo.jpg
MottoNatura et Scientia Amore
TypeLiberal Arts School
Established1857
Endowment$76,700,000
PresidentStephen D. Schutt
ProvostJanet McCracken
Academic staff
117
Students1,427
Location
Lake Forest
,
Illinois
,
USA
Campus107-acre residential campus
ColorsRed & Black
NicknameForesters
AffiliationsMidwest Conference
MascotBoomer the Black Bear
Websitewww.lakeforest.edu

Lake Forest College, founded in 1857, is a liberal arts college located in Lake Forest, Illinois. The college has over 1,400 students, about 40% of whom come from the state of Illinois. The remainder of the student body represents 45 other states and 65 additional countries. [1] The college is referred to as "Chicago's National Liberal Arts College," as it is located 30 miles north of Chicago.

The College's current Chair of the Board of Trustees is financier Peter G. Schiff, a graduate of the class of 1974. [2] The current President is Stephen D. Schutt, who believes strongly in the liberal-arts education: "In a rapidly changing world, better than any other kind of education I can think of, an education in the liberal arts teaches students how to be adaptable ... liberal arts are preparation for life." [3]

Lake Forest College is located at 555 North Sheridan Road, Lake Forest, Illinois, 60045 USA.

History

Lake Forest was founded in 1857 by Reverend Robert W. Patterson as a Presbyterian (though it now maintains no religious affiliation) alternative to the Methodist Northwestern University in Evanston. After stopping the train heading north from Chicago, Patterson and his fellow Chicago Presbyterians decided to establish a town and university upon the highest bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. (The area directly north of present-day Lake Forest is, coincidentally, Lake Bluff.) St. Louis architect Almerin Hotchkiss was hired to design the town of Lake Forest with a university park at its center. Hotchkiss used the ravines and forest as guidelines to create a layout that seemed consistent with the natural boundaries and paths. Lake Forest Academy, the first stage in the development of the university, began in 1858, while collegiate-level courses began in 1860. By the mid-1860s the fruits of this university-park vision were realized as a small New England-style village had been established with an academy building, a Presbyterian church and several homes. For a short time, the college was known as Lind University, for the man who had given $80,000 to launch the university. But, by 1865, the name reverted the Lake Forest University. The next large step forward for the college came in 1876 when Mary Eveline Smith Farwell launched Lake Forest College, a division of the university, under the leadership of the Reverend Patterson. In 1878, College Hall (now Young Hall) was built following a fire that destroyed the former hotel being used for classes.

The Reverend James Gore King McClure arrived in Lake Forest in 1881 as the pastor of the Presbyterian Church. Under his influence over the next 50 years, the College experienced a large transition "from a pluralistic graduate and professional emphasis to a singular undergraduate liberal arts focus," says Lake Forest College Archivist Art Miller, who co-wrote 30 Miles North: A History of Lake Forest College, Its Town, and Its City of Chicago. [4] During this time, the College's theater group, the Garrick Players, and two of its publications - the yearbook, and student newspaper, The Stentor - were formed. By the 1920s, the College has broken connections with the Academy and its only focus was the liberal arts. Following World War II, the College experienced further growth, taking control of what is now South Campus and constructing the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse.

During the 1950s, the College redefined its relationship with the Presbyterian Church, which led to a more diverse faculty. And, in 1960, William Graham Cole, from Williams College, took over as president and brought with him Eastern faculty and students, further diversifying the campus. During his time as president, in 1965, the school's name was officially changed to Lake Forest College. [5]

Young Hall, the tallest building in the city of Lake Forest, houses most of the humanities departments on campus.

Presidents

Faculty

With a student-to-professor ratio of 12:1, Lake Forest offers opportunities for close association with professors. Unlike other colleges, Lake Forest may boast that no classes are taught by teaching assistants. Ninety-eight percent of the faculty hold a doctorate or equivalent degree. [6] At the end of every semester, students fill out questionnaires surveying their professors' abilities. The surveys are then returned to the Dean of the Faculty to determine, among other things, tenure. According to the Peterson's college guide, "At the core of the College stands its distinguished faculty of excellent teachers and accomplished scholars." [7]

Notable professors include:

Academics

The College offers 20 departmental majors: art, biology, business, chemistry, communications, computer science, economics, education, English, French, history, mathematics, music, philosophy, physics, politics, psychology, sociology and anthropology, Spanish, and theater. Students can also develop their own area of study by working with a faculty advisor and completing a thesis or creative project as part of the independent scholar program. Some recent examples include: "Experimental Theatre and Performance," "Trade Liberalization in Poorer Latin America," and "Religion-Applied Spirituality." The College also offers pre-health and pre-law programs with faculty support, course suggestions, and testing advice. [8] Recent graduates have gone on to graduate school at Harvard, Northwestern, Columbia, Princeton, Stanford and several other well-known institutions. [9] Large employers of alumni include Abbott Laboratories, Bank One, Federal Reserve of Chicago, and SBC Communications.

Off-campus study

Many students take advantage of the College's international study options, including its own internship programs in Paris, France, and Santiago, Chile; the Ancient Civilizations Program in Greece and Turkey; and its Beijing program of Asian studies. Through the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, the school also offers programs in Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, England, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, and Tanzania.

Rankings

  • As of 2007, Lake Forest College is a member of The Princeton Review's 361 Best Colleges, appears on the lists of Best Midwestern Colleges and the Best Value Colleges, and ranks 6th in the country for Students Happy with Financial Aid [1]
  • Lake Forest College was ranked as 97th in a list of the top liberal arts colleges in the country by US News & World Report for its America's Best Colleges 2008 Edition. [2]

First-Year Studies Program

First-year students select one of more than twenty offerings for a first-semester course that serves as an introduction to the academic life at the College as part of the First-Year Studies Program (FIYS). The FIYS professors serve as students' advisors until they declare a major. Courses, covering a wide range of topics - from music, art, and politics to neuroscience, terrorism and religion - often have a focus on Chicago. This allows students to become familiar with the educational, cultural and social resources available in the city. [10]

Richter Scholar Program

A select number of admitted students are selected to participate in the Richter Scholar Program, which allows them to work with a professor during the summer following their freshman year. The students also take a seminar course during their second semester, called "Ways of Knowing." During the summer, the students work directly with the professor in a variety of fields. Some recent projects include: "Experiments Illustrating How Lasers can be Used to Manipulate Small Objects," "Federal Housing Policy and Race," "Regulation of Cell Volume in Red Blood Cells," "Do crayfish have a memory?" and "Navy SEAL Selection, Naval Service Training Command." [11]

Student Life

Although around 1,400 students attend the College, not all students live on campus. In fact, commuters typically number between 400-500 students. Thus, the actual number of students on campus is between 900 and 1,000, making for an even smaller, insular student population. The administration has taken steps to recruit commuters into various organizations, but has largely failed, with the exception of establishing a mildly successful Commuter Student Organization, which provides lockers and a lounge for commuter students. Still, most commuter students go home directly after class. Regardless, students who live on campus are actively involved in a paucity of student organizations.

Publications and Media

There are five media organizations on campus:

  • The Stentor, the official student-run weekly newspaper, which also publishes The Chive
  • Tusitala, first printed in 1935, is the College's annual literary magazine
  • Collage, a magazine featuring works primarily written in foreign languages
  • Eukaryon, an award-winning life-science research journal publishing student work
  • WMXM, the student-run radio station providing an alternative to mainstream radio
  • Spectrum, a publication for faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends

Greek Life

Sororities

Fraternities

  • With the official removal of Delta Kappa Epsilon in May of 2007, one official fraternity remains on campus, Delta Chi. There are, however, students on campus who are members of DKE, Kappa Sigma, which has its charter taken in 2005, and Phi Pi Epsilon, a local fraternity that was asked to cease actions in 2006.

Athletics

Lake Forest competes in Division III and offers 17 varsity sports, nine women's (basketball, cross country, handball, ice hockey, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, and volleyball) and eight men's (basketball, cross country, football, handball, ice hockey, soccer, swimming and diving, and tennis). The handball teams have won 30 national championships and have received national media attention.[13]

Retention Rate

In recent years, the College has struggled with its low retention rate. More than 1 in 5 students transfer before their sophomore year, and only 66% of students end up graduating.[14]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ "About Us" Lake Forest College Web site
  2. ^ "Trustees" on College's Web site
  3. ^ "President" on College's Web site
  4. ^ ISBN 978-0963818966
  5. ^ "History of the College" on College's Web site
  6. ^ Peterson's Four-Year Colleges 2008. Fern Oram, ed., Peterson's 2007, p. 1723. ISBN 9780768924008
  7. ^ Peterson's p. 1722
  8. ^ "Departments and Programs" on College's Web site
  9. ^ Owens, Eric and Tom Meltzer. America's Best Value Colleges, Random House, New York. 2006. p. 219. and Lake Forest College Common Data Set
  10. ^ "New Students > First-Year Studies Program" http://www.lakeforest.edu/life/admitted/fall/firstyearstudies.asp accessed Feb. 14, 2008.
  11. ^ "Richter Scholar Program" http://www.lakeforest.edu/academics/richter/ accessed Feb. 15, 2008.
  12. ^ "Greek Life" on College's Web site
  13. ^ Little Lake Forest Goes Mano a Mano With the Big Guys, New York Times, Feb. 14, 2007. Accessed Jan. 2, 2008.
  14. ^ http://www.csocollegecenter.org/collegeinfo.aspx?id=153 College Center Info. Accessed Feb. 2, 2008.'
  15. ^ Owens, p.219.
  16. ^ Owens, p. 219.

Additional readings

  • Ebner, Michael H. "North Shore Town and Gown," Chicago History, Summer 2007, pp.4-29
  • Schultze, Franz, Rosemary Cowler & Arthur H. Miller. Thirty Miles North: A History of Lake Forest College, Its Town, and Its City of Chicago. Lake Forest College, 2000. ISBN 0963818961
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lake_Forest_College&oldid=191724455"