List of Shimer College people
This is a list of notable students and faculty of Shimer College, a Great Books college that was acquired in 2017 by North Central College.
Founded in 1853, Shimer occupied a traditional college campus in Mount Carroll, Illinois, from 1853 to 1978, and an improvised campus in Waukegan from 1979 to 2006. It then occupied a dedicated space on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus in Chicago since 2006. Small throughout its existence, Shimer enrolled 141 students as of 2012. As of 2008, Shimer had 5,615 living alumni. On June 1, 2017, the college became the Shimer Great Books School of North Central College.
The school was known for its Great Books curriculum, and also for its early entrance program, both of which have been in effect since 1950. Many on this list were early entrants.
A
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Stephen Abrams | Parapsychologist and drug law reform activist | 1950s student | |
| José Aybar | President of Richard J. Daley College | 1964 graduate |
B
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Frederick C. Beiser | Scholar of German Idealist thought | 1971 graduate | |
| John Bellairs | Novelist | 1960s faculty | |
| Beulah Bondi | Film actress | 1907 graduate | |
| Alice Braunlich | Classical philologist | 1910s faculty | |
| Rachel Fuller Brown | Chemist and coinventor of nystatin | 1920s faculty | |
| Carol Bruch | Legal scholar | 1960 graduate | |
| Ron Bruder | Entrepreneur and founder of Education for Employment | 1960s student |
C
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Samuel James Campbell | Businessman and philanthropist | 1909 certificate, chairman of the board 1935–1956 | |
| Lynda Caspe | Painter, sculptor and poet | 1960s student | |
| Lisa Collier Cool | Author and journalist | 1970s student | |
| Peter Cooley | Poet and professor of English at Tulane University | 1962 graduate | |
| Heather Corinna | Author, sex columnist and activist | 1990s student | |
| John Nathan Crouse | Dentist, organizer of patent litigation, and American Dental Association president | 1860s student |
D
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Bina Deneen | First Lady of Illinois, 1904–1912 | 1890 graduate; 1889–1890 faculty | |
| Stephen Dobyns | Poet and novelist | 1960s student | |
| George W. Downs | Political scientist | 1967 graduate | |
| Alan Dowty | International relations scholar | 1959 graduate, 1966–1967 faculty | |
| Virginia Dox | Frontier educator, popular public speaker, key Whitman College fundraising agent | 1875 graduate, 1875–1877 faculty | |
| Dale Dubin | Author of bestselling cardiology textbook | 1950s student |
E
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Dorian Electra | Singer and video artist | 2014 graduate |
F
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Virgil Ferguson | Member of the Illinois State Senate 1891–1895 | 1860s student | |
| Arthur Fine | Philosopher of science | 1950s student | |
| Ken Friedman | Experimental artist and author | 1966 |
G
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Robert H. Gray | Amateur astronomer and writer on SETI | 1970 graduate | |
| Evelyn Greeley | Silent film actress | 1900s student | |
| Redd Griffin | Illinois state legislator | 1960 graduate |
H
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Henry Winfield Haldeman | Physician, banker and two-term mayor of Girard, Kansas | 1860s student | |
| Mitzi Hoag | TV actress | 1952 graduate |
K
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Robert Keohane | Professor of Political Science at Princeton University | 1961 graduate | |
| C. Clark Kissinger | Political activist | 1960s student | |
| Ken Knabb | Writer and translator | 1965 graduate | |
| Penney Kome | Canadian author and journalist, editor of Straight Goods | 1960s student | |
| Adam Kotsko | Writer on philosophy and popular culture | Faculty 2011-present | |
| Jesse Kraai | Chess Grandmaster | 1994 graduate | |
| Jerome Kristian | Cosmologist and discoverer of quasar host galaxies | 1953 graduate |
L
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Jake La Botz | Musician and actor | 1980s student | |
| Kevin Larmee | Painter in the East Village art movement | 1960s student, 1990 graduate | |
| Emil Liebling | Pianist and composer | 1900s faculty | |
| Thomas Locker | Artist and author | 1970s faculty |
M
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Gavin MacFadyen | Investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker | 1958–1959 student | |
| Annie Marion MacLean | Sociologist | 1894–1896 faculty | |
| John Norman Maclean | Author and journalist | 1964 | |
| Samuel W. McCall | Governor of Massachusetts | 1864–1866 student | |
| Anne McKnight | Opera soprano | 1943 graduate | |
| Suzanna Whitelaw Miles | Mayanist | 1940–1942 student | |
| H.H.C. Miller | Early Evanston mayor and civic leader | 1860–1864 student |
N
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Debbie Nathan | Feminist journalist and writer | 1960s student | |
| Henry Neikirk | Mine owner and Colorado state senator | 1850s student | |
| Mary Nourse | Historian of China and co-founder of Jinling College | 1899 graduate | |
| Jan Novák | Czech novelist and screenwriter | 1970s student |
O
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Kenneth Olwig | Geographer | 1967 graduate | |
| Jinny Osborn | Singer and founding member of The Chordettes | 1945 graduate |
P
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Mia Park | TV show host and actress | 1995 graduate | |
| Theodore Pepoon | Nebraska state senator | 1850s student | |
| Daniel Perlman | President of Suffolk University and Webster University | 1954 graduate | |
| Nick Pippenger | Researcher in computer science | 1965 graduate | |
| Frank Pooler | Choirmaster and choral instructor | 1950s faculty | |
| Edwin Hartley Pratt | Homeopathic physician and inventor of "orificial surgery" | 1864–1865 student |
R
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| J. Morris Rea | Iowa state senator | 1850s–1860s student | |
| Jen Richards | Writer, actress, producer, and activist | 2000s student |
S
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Daniel J. Sandin | Computer graphics and visual arts pioneer | 1964 graduate | |
| Ron Schultz | Florida State Representative | 1950s student | |
| Frances Shimer | Educator; founder and principal of Mount Carroll Seminary, which later became Shimer College | Founder | |
| Henry Shimer | Entomologist and physician | 19th-century faculty, husband of founder Frances Shimer | |
| Neta Snook | Pioneer aviator and teacher of Amelia Earhart | 1912 graduate | |
| Phoebe Snow | Singer-songwriter | 1970s student | |
| Laurie Spiegel | Composer and computer scientist | 1967 graduate | |
| Sydney Spiesel | Pediatrician and clinical faculty at Yale University School of Medicine | 1961 graduate | |
| Sarah Hackett Stevenson | First female delegate of the American Medical Association | 1850s student | |
| Paula Stewart | Stage, film and television actress | 1947 |
V
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Elizabeth Van Wie Davis | Asian studies scholar and administrator at Nazarbayev University | 1977 graduate | |
| Elizabeth Vandiver | Classicist and classics educator | 1976 graduate |
W
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| David Weisburd | Criminologist | 1970s student | |
| David Hilton Wheeler | Italian translator and Northwestern University and Allegheny College president | 1850s faculty | |
| Lilian Whiting | Author and editor | 19th-century student | |
| Mary Wings | Writer, artist, and musician | 1960s student | |
| Roland Winston | Expert in nonimaging optics for solar energy | 1953 graduate |
Y
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Shimer College | Citation |
| Cat Yronwode | Comic book publisher and folklorist | 1960s student |