Frances Shimer Academy

Shimer College was founded in 1852, when the pioneer town of Mt. Carroll, Illinois, lacking a public school, incorporated the Mt. Carroll Seminary with no land, no teachers, and no money for this purpose.

Founded as non-denominational, it was affiliated with Baptists from 1896 into the 1950s, and subsequently with The Episcopal Church between 1959 and 1973, after which it became non-denominational once again.

Shimer has evolved over time from a coeducational seminary to a women's seminary, a women's academy, a women's junior college, a women's college, and finally a coeducational Great Books college.

Throughout its existence, it has been involved a series of crises and profound changes. Because of this, the college is often symbolized by a phoenix which is reborn from its own ashes. Crises throughout Shimer's history have included three abandonments of the college by its board in 1855, 1973 and 1977; a catastrophic fire in 1906; bankruptcies in 1974 and 1977; and struggles over governance in 1966 and 2010.

Faculty and students have historically worked together to keep the college viable. The college has undergone two hotly contested moves, from Mount Carroll, Illinois to Waukegan, Illinois in 1978 and from Waukegan to Chicago in 2006.

Characteristics that have been noted to recur throughout Shimer's history, include a unique degree of student involvement in administering the school's affairs. The school maintains a tradition of welcoming any pupils as they are ready and able to learn, admitting students many schools would consider too young.

The school has maintained notably high standards of academic performance and required workload. In the 19th century, it sent students to the East Coast ready to skip the first years of college. In the 20th and 21st centuries, Shimer students had among the highest GRE scores and rates of graduate study in the country.

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