MacMurray College

MacMurray College was a private college in Jacksonville, Illinois. Its enrollment in fall 2015 was 570. Founded in 1846, the college closed in May 2020. 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 was affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It was 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. This reorganization helped make a larger enrollment overall. However David Jesse of The Detroit Free Press wrote that for much of its history in the 20th century, the 2000s, and 2010s, the college had an unstable financial situation. Its height of enrollment was more than 1,500 students. In the 1990s it had more students than Illinois College, but later its enrollment and finances declined.