Lake Forest College

Lake Forest College is a four-year coeducational private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. The College has 1,500 students representing 47 states and 78 countries, and is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. Lake Forest College competes in NCAA Division III athletics, and its mascot is Boomer the Bear. Its current president is Stephen D. Schutt, who joined the College in 2001 after serving as the Vice President & Chief of Staff at the University of Pennsylvania.

History


Lake Forest was founded in 1857 by Reverend Robert W. Patterson as a Presbyterian (still a member of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities) alternative to the Methodist Northwestern University in Evanston. It was originally named Lind University, after the man who had given $80,000 to launch the University. It had a medical college from 1859–1863, which later split off and eventually merged with Northwestern University, the predecessor of the Feinberg School of Medicine.

Patterson and his fellow Chicago Presbyterians established the town of Lake Forest as well as the university upon the highest bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. 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, a boys' preparatory school and the first project of the University, began in 1858; 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.

In 1865, the name became Lake Forest University. In 1869 Ferry Hall, a girls' preparatory school and junior college, opened as a division of the University. It later merged with Lake Forest Academy (1974).

In 1876 Mary Eveline Smith Farwell started 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. During this time, the College's theater group, the Garrick Players, the yearbook, and student newspaper, The Stentor, were all formed.

The Lake Forest School of Music opened as a division of the University in 1916, incorporating and extending the courses in music hitherto given in other departments. A summer school of landscape architecture was instituted in 1916.

By the 1920s, the College had 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.

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. In March 2010, the college received a gift of $7 million from alumna Grace Groner.

Faculty
Lake Forest has a student-to-professor ratio of 13:1. No classes at Lake Forest are taught by teaching assistants. All faculty hold a doctorate or equivalent degree. See list of Lake Forest College people for notable faculty.

Rankings

 * Lake Forest College is a member of The Princeton Review's 371 Best Colleges, appears on its Financial Aid Honor Roll (a list of the 13 schools that received a perfect Financial Aid rating) and Best Midwestern Colleges list.
 * Lake Forest College is a Tier 1 school and was ranked as 95th in a list of the top liberal arts colleges in the country by US News & World Report for its America's Best Colleges 2010 Edition.

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 students 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.

Richter Scholar Program
In the fall semester a select number of admitted students are chosen to participate in the Richter Scholar Program, which allows them to work with a professor during the summer following their freshman year. During the summer, the students work directly with the professor in a variety of fields. Some recent projects included: "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."

Accelerated Programs
The College offers students the option to receive their bachelor's degrees in communication or philosophy in three years. Pre-professional and dual-degree programs are available with Rosalind Franklin University in pharmacy, Rush University in nursing, the Chicago-Kent College of Law, John Marshall Law School, Loyola School of Law, and the Vermont Law School for an accelerated B.A./J.D. track, the Graduate School of International Policy & Management at the Monterey Institute of International Studies for an accelerated master's degree, and Washington University in St. Louis for a dual bachelor's degree in engineering.

Student Symposium
The Steven Galovich Student Symposium, held in April, is an annual event during the academic year showcasing students and their research. Each year, students give individual and group presentations, poster sessions, concerts and recitals showcasing their work. Classes are cancelled on that day so students can freely attend and participate in all the events. In 2007, the Student Symposium was designated as the Steven Galovich Memorial Student Symposium in memory of Steven Galovich, past Provost and Dean of Faculty at Lake Forest, who was instrumental in starting the Student Symposium in 1998. Schedule and abstracts are available since 2010 on the College's Digital Publications site at http://publications.lakeforest.edu/gss.

Admission
According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and U.S. News & World Report, Lake Forest is considered to be a "more selective" institution, with a lower rate of transfer-in students.

Lake Forest College's admissions selectivity rank according to The Princeton Review is 88 out of 99. This ranking is determined by several institutionally-reported factors, including: the class rank, average standardized test scores, and average high school GPA of entering freshmen; the percentage of students who come from out-of-state; and the percentage of applicants accepted.

The acceptance rate for the Class of 2015 was 50% from a from a total applicant pool of 3,411, yielding a class of 406 students.

Student life
Approximately 1,500 students attend the College, and about 86% live on campus. "'Life at Lake Forest is generally laid-back,' with a pace set by the quiet, high-end suburb in which the school is located," says a Princeton Review article. Among the largest and most active student groups on campus are: the student radio station (WMXM), Student Government, PRIDE (LGBT), E.Team (organizes on-campus entertainment) and the Greek organizations.

Center for Chicago Programs
Chicago plays a central role in student life and learning at Lake Forest College. Whether through class visits to the city to explore its cultural riches, internships with Chicago-area businesses, or organized trips with student leaders to experience the city’s ethnic neighborhoods, the Second City is Lake Forest’s second classroom. At the Center for Chicago Programs students can learn about events in the city and surrounding suburbs, get guidance on transportation to the city, and suggestions of where to go when they get there. The Center also brings notable Chicago-area speakers, artists, and performers to campus.

Publications and Media
There are six media organizations on campus:
 * The Stentor is the school-sponsored student-run newspaper
 * The Stentor is published as often as weekly and has been in publication since 1886. Online archives for twelve issues exist for the year 2011/2012.


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

Sororities

 * Alpha Phi, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Alpha Kappa Alpha.

Fraternities

 * Delta Chi and Lambda Chi Alpha

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.

Lake Forest College has been a member of the Midwest Conference since 1974. They were a member of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin from 1946-1963. They were a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1919-1937.

The Sports Center, originally constructed in 1968, has long been home to Forester Athletics. But after the completion of a $17-million, 65000 sqft recreation and fitness addition, the building was renamed the Lake Forest College Sports and Recreation Center.