Robert Spencer Long
Encyclopedia
Robert Spencer Long was a professor of physical science and the tenth president of Shimer College
.
Long was born on the north side of Chicago
and graduated from Roger C. Sullivan High School
in the Rogers Park neighborhood in 1945. After serving three years in the United States Navy
, he studied at the University of Chicago
, where he obtained a BA in 1951, a master of science in 1955, and a Ph.D. in geochemistry
in 1964. He subsequently taught at Nasson College
in Maine, New College of Florida
, and at the University of Puerto Rico
before becoming Dean at Roger Williams College.
Long assumed the position of President of Shimer College on June 3, 1970, shortly after previous president Milburn Akers
was killed in car accident. He took control of a college with rapidly dropping enrolment and rising debt, problems which continued to worsen throughout his tenure. Long increased gift income to $300,000 per year, but this was not sufficient to counteract the financial problems. In 1972, Long's son, a student at Shimer, was killed by tainted opium while participating in the Shimer-in-Oxford program in Oxford, England.
In November 1973, the Board of Trustees announced that Shimer would close at the end of the year. Although an emergency fundraising campaign by faculty and students kept the college open, Long resigned at the end of 1973. He publicly stated that the college would be unable to survive.
Shimer College
Shimer College is a very small, private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Founded by Frances Wood Shimer in 1853 in the frontier town of Mt. Carroll, Illinois, it was a women's school for most of its first century. It joined with the University of...
.
Long was born on the north side of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and graduated from Roger C. Sullivan High School
Roger C. Sullivan High School
Roger C. Sullivan High School is a high school located in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the many schools which is part of the Chicago Public Schools...
in the Rogers Park neighborhood in 1945. After serving three years in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, he studied at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, where he obtained a BA in 1951, a master of science in 1955, and a Ph.D. in geochemistry
Geochemistry
The field of geochemistry involves study of the chemical composition of the Earth and other planets, chemical processes and reactions that govern the composition of rocks, water, and soils, and the cycles of matter and energy that transport the Earth's chemical components in time and space, and...
in 1964. He subsequently taught at Nasson College
Nasson College
Nasson College was a private four-year accredited liberal arts college in Springvale, Maine.It was founded in 1912 as Nasson Institute and changed its name twenty-three years later, in 1935 . It closed in 1983, after which its in-town campus sat vacant well into the 1990s.As the Nasson Institute,...
in Maine, New College of Florida
New College of Florida
New College of Florida is a public liberal arts college located in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded originally as a private institution and is now an autonomous honors college of the State University System of Florida.-History:...
, and at the University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
before becoming Dean at Roger Williams College.
Long assumed the position of President of Shimer College on June 3, 1970, shortly after previous president Milburn Akers
Milburn Akers
Milburn Peter Akers , often known as Pete Akers, was a Chicago journalist, chairman of the Board of Trustees of McKendree College, and the ninth president of Shimer College....
was killed in car accident. He took control of a college with rapidly dropping enrolment and rising debt, problems which continued to worsen throughout his tenure. Long increased gift income to $300,000 per year, but this was not sufficient to counteract the financial problems. In 1972, Long's son, a student at Shimer, was killed by tainted opium while participating in the Shimer-in-Oxford program in Oxford, England.
In November 1973, the Board of Trustees announced that Shimer would close at the end of the year. Although an emergency fundraising campaign by faculty and students kept the college open, Long resigned at the end of 1973. He publicly stated that the college would be unable to survive.
See also
- History of Shimer CollegeHistory of Shimer CollegeThe history of Shimer College begins in 1853, and has 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...