SC012 Alumni Directories

The Shimer College Alumni Directories began to be published amid strained relationships between Shimer and its alumni. By the 1970s, Shimer’s identity had shifted substantially from what it had once been. In the 1950s it had become coeducational and adopted the Great Books curriculum that would become its hallmark. 1978 was also the year of Shimer’s move from its campus in Mt. Carroll, Illinois to its new location in Waukegan, Illinois. These social and environmental changes created a divide between Shimer and some of its alumni, as Shimer was now quite different from the school many alumni had attended. The directories were an attempt to uphold a sense of connection between the current Shimer community and past alumni, allowing the former to easily contact the latter.