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History of MacMurray College

MacMurray College dates its history from 1846 when a group of Methodist clergymen, led by Peter Cartwright and Peter Akers, founded it as the Illinois Conference Female Academy. The first class was held in 1848. The school was renamed the Illinois Conference Female College in 1851, with the name changed again to Illinois Female College in 1863.

Throughout the second half of the nineteenth century, the College provided a rigorous educational program for women at the preparatory and collegiate levels. Programs of instruction included Latin, Greek, chemistry, natural and moral philosophy, and meteorology. A student's day began early in the morning and proceeded through a steady succession of classes and study halls to "lights out" in the evening.

Social life included chaperoned visits off-campus and the reception of male guests, provided they were approved by the governess. Nonetheless, according to a college historian, the dean experienced some difficulty preventing students from escaping from the residence halls.

More serious pursuits included student support for Union efforts during the Civil War and the development of Belles Lettres and Phi Nu, literary societies designed to promote "independent thought and accurate habits of composition," according to the 1856 catalog.

In 1909, the College offered its first baccalaureate degrees and the academic program rose in stature to stand among the best in the nation. In 1914, the student government was chartered, beginning an uninterrupted association with faculty, staff, and the trustees.

Due, in large measure, to the generosity of Senator James MacMurray, a College trustee, the late 1920s and 1930s saw a substantial increase in the College's facilities and endowment. In recognition of his commitment, the college was named for him in 1930.

The 1930s were years of more relaxed rules governing dormitory hours, required chapel, smoking, and "weekend permission." Playing bridge was the most popular informal pastime. This period was also noted for the development of the women's initiation ceremony which has become known as "Green Ribbon."

The 1940s were occupied with activities in support of American efforts in World War II, but by the early 50s the campus had returned to normal and student life came to be characterized by such events as presentation of the senior song, senior cut day, the Lantern Drill, and a highlight of the year - the Faculty Show.

In 1955, the Trustees established MacMurray College for Men as a coordinate institution related to the Women's College. The first class of freshman men moved to Blackstock House on September 13, 1957, thus beginning a period of curricular reassessment, redevelopment of social activities and student government, and intensified construction of new facilities.

The Hub, a popular student meeting place located in Rutledge basement, soon became inadequate and was moved in 1965 to the new Campus Center. Dining rooms in the basements of Norris and Kendall were closed and, in 1967, men joined women for meals in McClelland Dining Hall. Finally, in 1969, the coordinate colleges were reorganized into a single institution.

Life on campus during the 1960s and early 1970s was dominated by concern for the developing Civil Rights Movement and the war in Vietnam. (Time was found in 1972, however, for students to note the movement of the Michalson Monster from Harker Hall to Michalson House - an act which has been commemorated each year since.) The mid-1970s saw the development of the Competence-Oriented Participative Education (COPE) curriculum and construction of the Education Complex.

The decade of the 1980s ushered in a period of relative calm on college campuses nationwide, and MacMurray was no exception. For many students, the focus of attention centered on career preparation and graduate school placement, and new programs were instituted to meet these needs. Academic emphasis returned to the liberal arts in the form of a new general education program, otherwise known as MacMurray's Core Curriculum, the "Ideas in Perspective" sequence. Many are already calling the innovative program the blueprint for a lifetime of learning. Academic concentration on campus will revolve greatly around this latest installment in "The MacMurray Plan."

MacMurray College reached a milestone in 1996 with the celebration of its Sesquicentennial, and one year later Dr. Lawrence D. Bryan was selected as MacMurray's fourteenth president.

(Derived in part from Walter B. Hendrickson, Forward in the Second Century of MacMurray College: A History of 125 Years, 1972.)

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