Lake Forest College

{{Short description|Private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois, U.S.}}

{{Infobox university

| name = Lake Forest College

| native_name =

| latin_name =

| image = Lake_Forest_College_logo.svg

| image_size = 150

| motto = Et veritas liberabit vos (Latin)

| mottoeng = And the truth shall set you free{{cite book |last= Schulze |first= Franz |author2=Rosemary Cowler |author-link2=Rosemary Cowler|author3=Arthur H. Miller |title= Thirty Miles North: A History of Lake Forest College, Its Town, and Its City of Chicago |publisher= University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |date=2000 |isbn= 978-0-9638189-6-6}} (John 8:32)

| established = {{start date and age|1857}}

| type = Private liberal arts college

| religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian
Presbyterian (historically)

| endowment = $114.9 million (2023)As of June 30, 2023.{{cite report |url=https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Nacubo/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2023-NCSE-Endowment-Market-Values-FINAL.ashx |title=Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Endowment Market Value of U.S. and Canadian Higher Education Institutions and Affiliated Foundations That Participated in the 2023 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments, and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY22 to FY23 |publisher=National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA |date=February 15, 2024 |access-date=February 15, 2024 |archive-date=February 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215102011/https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Nacubo/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2023-NCSE-Endowment-Market-Values-FINAL.ashx |url-status=live }}

| staff =

| faculty = 178{{cite web|access-date=11 February 2015|title=Facts and Figures, Lake Forest College|url=http://www.lakeforest.edu/about/factsandfigures/|publisher=Lake Forest College|archive-date=25 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125164428/http://www.lakeforest.edu/about/factsandfigures/|url-status=dead}}

| president = Robert Krebs{{cite web |title=Office of the President |url=https://www.lakeforest.edu/about-us/office-of-the-president |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=Lake Forest College}}

| provost = Tara Natarajan

| principal =

| rector =

| chancellor =

| vice_chancellor =

| dean =

| head_label =

| head =

| students = 1,700

| undergrad =

| postgrad =

| doctoral =

| city = Lake Forest

| state = Illinois

| country = U.S.

| coor = {{coord|42.2496|-87.8285|type:edu_region:US-IL|display=inline,title}}

| campus = Suburban, {{convert|107|acre|ha}}

| former_names = Lind University (1857–1865)
Lake Forest University (1865–1965)

| free_label =

| free =

| colors = {{Color box|#ce1126|border=darkgray}}{{color box|black}} Red & black {{cite web|url=http://www.lakeforest.edu/offices/communications/style/|title=College Style Guide|publisher=Lake Forest College Office of Communications and Marketing|access-date=14 February 2015|archive-date=11 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211222559/http://www.lakeforest.edu/offices/communications/style/|url-status=live}}

| athletics_affiliations = NCAA Division III
Midwest, NCHA

| sports_nickname = Foresters

| mascot = Boomer the Bear

| academic_affiliations = ACM
Annapolis Group
Oberlin Group
CLAC
APCU

| website = {{url|https://www.lakeforest.edu/| lakeforest.edu}}

}}

Lake Forest College is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducational since 1876 and an undergraduate-focused liberal arts institution since 1903.{{cite web |url=http://www.lakeforest.edu/about/history |title=History of the College |publisher=Lake Forest College |access-date=14 February 2015 |archive-date=22 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022185933/http://www.lakeforest.edu/about/history/ |url-status=live }} Lake Forest enrolls approximately 1,500 students representing 43 states and 80 countries. Lake Forest offers 32 undergraduate major and minor programs in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, and features programs of study in pre-law, pre-medicine, communication, business, finance, and computer science. Most students live on the college's wooded {{convert|107|acre|ha|adj=on}} campus located {{convert|0.5|mi|km}} from the Lake Michigan shore; however, the population of commuting students has increased in the past few years.

Lake Forest is affiliated with the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. The college has 23 varsity teams that compete in the NCAA Division III Midwest Conference.

History

File:Young Hall of lake forest college.jpg

Lake Forest College was founded in 1857 by Reverend Robert W. Patterson as a Presbyterian alternative to the Methodist Northwestern University in Evanston. It was originally named Lind University after Sylvester Lind, who had given $80,000{{efn|{{inflation|US|80000|1857|fmt=eq}}{{inflation/fn|US}}}} to launch the school. Patterson and his fellow Chicago Presbyterians established the town of Lake Forest and the university roughly halfway between Evanston and Waukegan two years after the Chicago and Milwaukee Railway began service from Chicago. They hired St. Louis landscape architect Almerin Hotchkiss to design the town of Lake Forest with a university park at its center. Hotchkiss used the area's wooded ravines and forest as guidelines to design the town.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Lake Forest Academy, a boys' preparatory school, began offering classes in 1858; collegiate-level courses began in 1860. By the mid-1860s, a small New England–style village had been established with an academy building, a Presbyterian church, and several homes. The school had a medical college (Lind Medical School) from 1859 to 1863, which later became independent and eventually became part of Northwestern University, now known as the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

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 led by Fannie Ruth Robinson.{{Cite Americana|wstitle=Lake Forest University}} It later merged with Lake Forest Academy in 1974.

In 1876 Mary Eveline Smith Farwell started Lake Forest College, a coeducational 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.

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.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

In 1890 Lake Forest established a relationship with the Chicago College of Dental Surgery, Chicago's first dental school, to serve as its dental department. This affiliation ended in 1902.

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 1925, Lake Forest College split from Lake Forest Academy, and the school's only focus was on undergraduate 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.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

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 $7 million{{efn|equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US|7,000,000|2010}}}} in {{inflation/year|US}}{{inflation/fn|US}}}} from alumna Grace Groner.{{cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-millionaire-donation6-2010mar06,0,2910138.story |title=A hidden millionaire's college gift |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2010-03-06 |access-date=2012-01-28 |archive-date=2024-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403074321/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-mar-06-la-na-millionaire-donation6-2010mar06-story.html |url-status=live }}

Faculty

The teaching faculty consists of 181 members. Lake Forest has a student-to-professor ratio of 12:1, and the average class size is 19. No classes at Lake Forest are taught by teaching assistants. Ninety-six percent of faculty hold a doctorate or equivalent degree. See list of Lake Forest College people for notable faculty. Lake Forest professors regularly include undergraduates in their primary research and supervise independent research projects.

Academics

File:Durand Art Institute.jpg

File:Lake Forest College autumn.jpg]]

Lake Forest's three most popular undergraduate majors, by 2021 graduates, were Business/Commerce (62), Research & Experimental Psychology (37), and Finance (24).{{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Lake+Forest&s=all&id=146481#programs |website=nces.ed.gov |publisher=U.S. Dept of Education |title=Lake Forest College |access-date=February 11, 2023 |archive-date=February 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211190241/https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Lake+Forest&s=all&id=146481#programs |url-status=live }}

= Rankings =

The Princeton Review
2021: #4 "Best Science Lab Facilities," #9 "Best Counseling Services," #9 "Best Health Services," #14 "Top 20 Best Schools for Internships (Private Schools)"The Princeton Review.[https://www.princetonreview.com/college/lake-forest-college-1022662?ceid=ctpyb "Lake Forest College"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921170916/https://www.princetonreview.com/college/lake-forest-college-1022662?ceid=ctpyb |date=2020-09-21 }}, The Princeton Review, 2021. Retrieved on 13 June 2021.
2019: #9 "Best Colleges for Internships," #12 "Best Alumni Network," #20 "Most Popular Study Abroad Program," #20 "Best College Library"Lake Forest College. [https://www.lakeforest.edu/news-and-events/princeton-review-ranks-lake-forest-college-tops-in-internships-alumni-network "Princeton Review ranks Lake Forest College tops in internships, alumni network"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403074301/https://www.lakeforest.edu/news-and-events/princeton-review-ranks-lake-forest-college-tops-in-internships-alumni-network |date=2024-04-03 }}, Lake Forest College, 20 February 2019. Retrieved on 13 June 2021.
U.S. News & World Report
2021: #2 "Top Performers on Social Mobility," #33 "Best Value Schools," #84 "National Liberal Arts Colleges"U.S. News & World Report. [https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/lake-forest-college-1706 "Lake Forest College"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526155638/https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/lake-forest-college-1706 |date=2021-05-26 }}, U.S. News & World Report, 2021. Retrieved on 13 June 2021.
2019: #45 "Best Value School" Lake Forest College. [https://www.lakeforest.edu/news/lake-forest-rises-in-us-news-ranking "Lake Forest rises in U.S. News ranking"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131045526/https://www.lakeforest.edu/news/lake-forest-rises-in-us-news-ranking |date=2022-01-31 }}, Lake Forest College, 11 September 2019. Retrieved on 13 June 2021.
Washington Monthly
2020: #15 "Best Bang for the Buck,"Washington Monthly. [https://washingtonmonthly.com/2020college-guide/best-bang-midwest "2020 Best Bang for the Buck Rankings: Midwest"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622163958/https://washingtonmonthly.com/2020college-guide/best-bang-midwest |date=2021-06-22 }}, Washington Monthly, 2020. Retrieved on 13 June 2021. #37 "Best Liberal Arts Colleges"Washington Monthly. [https://washingtonmonthly.com/2020college-guide/liberalarts "2020 Liberal Arts Colleges Ranking"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122024925/https://washingtonmonthly.com/2020college-guide/liberalarts |date=2021-11-22 }}, Washington Monthly, 2020. Retrieved on 13 June 2021.
2019: #39 "Best Bang for the Buck,"Washington Monthly. [https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019college-guide/best-bang-midwest "2019 Best Bang for the Buck Rankings: Midwest"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427155132/https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019college-guide/best-bang-midwest |date=2021-04-27 }}, Washington Monthly, 2019. Retrieved on 13 June 2021. #52 "Liberal Arts"Washington Monthly. [https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019college-guide/liberalarts "2019 Liberal Arts Rankings"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190927151745/https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019college-guide/liberalarts |date=2019-09-27 }}, Washington Monthly, 2019. Retrieved on 13 June 2021.

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.{{cite web |url=http://classifications.carnegiefoundation.org/lookup_listings/institution.php |title=Carnegie Classifications | Institution Lookup |work=Carnegie Classifications | Institution Profile |publisher=the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching |access-date=2012-03-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20140511101546/http://classifications.carnegiefoundation.org//lookup_listings//institution.php |archive-date=2014-05-11 }}{{cite web |url=http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/lake-forest-college-1706 |title=Lake Forest College | Best College | US News |publisher=Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com |date=2012-03-05 |access-date=2012-03-05 |archive-date=2012-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410035234/http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/lake-forest-college-1706 |url-status=live }}

Lake Forest College's admissions selectivity rank according to The Princeton Review is 88 out of 99.{{Cite web|url=http://www.princetonreview.com/schools/college/CollegeAdmissions.aspx?iid=1022662|title=College Advice & Tips | the Princeton Review|access-date=2012-03-06|archive-date=2024-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403074158/https://www.princetonreview.com/college-advice?iid=1022662|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/articles/find/ratings.asp#selectivity |title=User's Guide to Our College Ratings |website=www.princetonreview.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040818063642/http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/articles/find/ratings.asp |archive-date=2004-08-18}}

The acceptance rate for the Class of 2023 was 55% from a total applicant pool of 4,482, yielding a class of 400 students.{{cite web |url=https://www.lakeforest.edu/Public/ADM/Transfer/Lake%20Forest%20At-a-Glance%202020-21.pdf |title=At A Glance |publisher=Lake Forest College |access-date=2021-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614052414/https://www.lakeforest.edu/Public/ADM/Transfer/Lake%20Forest%20At-a-Glance%202020-21.pdf |archive-date=2021-06-14 |url-status=live}}{{failed verification |reason=archived source does not mention 55%|date=May 2025}}

Student life

Approximately 1,500 students attend the college, and about 75% live on campus in one of the eleven residence halls.{{cite web|url=http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/profiles/campuslife.asp?listing=1022662<id=1&intbucketid=|title="Lake Forest College" on Princeton Review website}}{{cite web|url=https://www.lakeforest.edu/student-life|title="Student Life" on Lake Forest College website|access-date=2021-06-14|archive-date=2021-05-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523112636/https://www.lakeforest.edu/student-life|url-status=live}} Lake Forest has more than 80 clubs and organizations, the largest and most active being: the student radio station (WMXM), Student Government, PRIDE (LGBTQ+), Student Programming Board (SPB) (organizes on-campus entertainment) and the Greek organizations.{{cite web |url=http://www.lakeforest.edu/studentlife/activities/clubs/ |title=Clubs and Organizations on College's website accessed Sep. 7, 2011 |publisher=Lakeforest.edu |access-date=2012-01-28 |archive-date=2012-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119122201/http://www.lakeforest.edu/studentlife/activities/clubs/ |url-status=live }}

Located {{convert|30|mi|km}} north of Chicago, Lake Forest College is roughly an hour's commute from the city. The Metra rail line, located in downtown Lake Forest, is a 15-minute walk from campus, where trains run approximately 25 times per day.{{cite web|url=https://www.lakeforest.edu/chicago/|title=Access Chicago|website=www.lakeforest.edu|access-date=2014-11-11|archive-date=2014-11-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111021843/https://www.lakeforest.edu/chicago/|url-status=live}}

About 86% of students participate in off-campus internships and 40% participate in a study abroad program.{{cite web|url=https://www.lakeforest.edu/about-us/our-students|title=Our Students|website=www.lakeforest.edu|access-date=2021-06-14|archive-date=2021-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513154526/https://www.lakeforest.edu/about-us/our-students|url-status=live}}

=Publications and media=

There are seven media organizations on campus:

The Stentor is the school-sponsored student-run newspaper

::The Stentor is published weekly and has been in publication since 1886. Online archives for twelve issues exist for the year 2011/2012.

Inter-Text is a student-run academic journal for the social sciences and humanities.
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 a 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

=Athletics=

File:Lake foresters textlogo.png

Lake Forest teams, nicknamed the Foresters, compete in NCAA Division III (except handball) and offers 23 varsity sports, 12 women's (basketball, cross country, distance indoor track, distance outdoor track, handball, ice hockey, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, golf, and volleyball) and 11 men's (basketball, cross country, distance indoor track, distance outdoor track, football, handball, ice hockey, soccer, swimming and diving, golf and tennis). The handball teams have won 49 national championships and have received national media attention.{{cite news |last=Conklin |first=Mike |date=February 14, 2007 |title=Little Lake Forest Goes Mano a Mano With the Big Guys |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/sports/othersports/14handball.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=2012-01-28 |archive-date=2013-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130213033624/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/sports/othersports/14handball.html? |url-status=live }} The handball team competes in Division I through USHA (not NCAA).

Lake Forest College has been a member of the Midwest Conference since 1974. It was a member of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin from 1946 to 1963, and of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1919 to 1937. Lake Forest College attended the original 1895 meeting that led to the formation of the now-Division I Big Ten Conference, but never actually participated in athletics or any other activities in that conference.{{cite web|url=https://athlonsports.com/college-football/history-big-ten-conference-realignment|title=The History of Big Ten Conference Realignment|date=2 July 2012 |access-date=2017-05-21|archive-date=2018-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203064120/https://athlonsports.com/college-football/history-big-ten-conference-realignment|url-status=live}}

The Sports Center, originally constructed in 1968, has long been home to Forester Athletics. After the completion of a $17-million, {{convert|65000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} recreation and fitness addition, the building was renamed the Lake Forest College Sports and Recreation Center.

The campus is home to the original Halas Hall, the practice and front office facility for the NFL's Chicago Bears from 1977 until 1997. When the team built a new facility with the same name {{convert|4|mi|km}} to the west, the building was renovated into offices for the athletic department, while retaining the Halas Hall name. The practice field was renamed Farwell Field and serves as the main field for Foresters football and soccer.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

Notable people

Footnotes

References

{{Reflist|30em| refs =

{{cite web

| url = https://www.lakeforest.edu/academics/students/journals/stentor/

| title = Stentor

| publisher = Lake Forest College

| quote = The newspaper covers features, news, editorials, sports, and offers a voice to the students of the College.

| access-date = 2013-05-19

| archive-date = 2013-05-10

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130510095829/http://www.lakeforest.edu/academics/students/journals/stentor/

| url-status = live

}}

{{cite web

| url = https://www.lakeforest.edu/live/news/1487-the-stentor-archives

| title = Lake Forest College news: The Stentor archives

| publisher = Lake Forest College

| access-date = 2013-05-19

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130825103209/https://www.lakeforest.edu/live/news/1487-the-stentor-archives

| archive-date = 2013-08-25

| url-status = dead

}}

External links

{{oweb}}
[https://goforesters.com/ Athletics website]
{{Cite NSRW|wstitle=Lake Forest College|short=x}}

{{Navboxes

|title=Articles and topics related to Lake Forest College

|titlestyle = background:#BD202F; color:white; {{box-shadow border|a|#BCAA73|2px}};

|state=autocollapse

|list1=

}}

Category:1857 establishments in Illinois

Category:Buildings and structures in Lake County, Illinois

Category:Education in Lake County, Illinois

Category:Universities and colleges established in 1857

Category:Liberal arts colleges in Illinois

Category:Universities and colleges affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA)

Category:Private universities and colleges in Illinois