Lincoln College in Lincoln, Illinois, notified the Illinois Board of Higher Education and Higher Learning Commission on March 30, 2022, that the institution would “permanently close” May 13, 2022. “The Board of Trustees has voted to cease all academic programming at the end of the spring semester,” the administration said. Some faculty and staff will apparently remain on the college payroll until mid-July 2022.

Founded as Lincoln University, a Cumberland Presbyterian institution of higher education, in 1865, and named after United States President Abraham Lincoln, the school became one of the colleges of Millikin University, another Cumberland Presbyterian institution, in nearby Decatur, Illinois, in 1901. Both schools operated under Cumberland Presbyterian control until the partial merger of denominations in 1906 transferred the schools to the Presbyterian Church (USA).

In 1929, apparently no longer associated with PCUSA, Lincoln became a two-year junior college. In 2015, President David Gerlach with the Board of Trustees moved to return Lincoln College to a four year institution. This plan was apparently going well until the advent of COVID-19 at which time the school struggled with the expense of transitioning to remote learning while losing a significant number of students.

Finally, the college “was a victim of a cyberattack in December 2021 that thwarted admissions activities and hindered access to all institutional data, creating an unclear picture of fall 2022 enrollment projections. All systems required for recruitment, retention, and fundraising efforts were inoperable. Fortunately, no personal identifying information was exposed. Once fully restored in March 2022, the projections displayed significant enrollment shortfalls, requiring a transformational donation or partnership to sustain Lincoln College beyond the current semester.”

Lincoln College is also home to the Lincoln Heritage Museum founded in 1941.