Shimer College, one of the smallest colleges in the country, is moving to the suburbs to join with North Central College View Full Caption Courtesy of Shimer College

DOUGLAS — Shimer College, one of the smallest colleges in the country with only 100 students, is planning to merge with North Central College.

The schools are considering a merger that would move the campus from the Illinois Institute of Technology to Naperville and create the Shimer Great Books School within North Central College, according to an announcement from North Central.

Shimer students and faculty would become part of North Central during the fall 2017 term and have full access to North Central’s campus in Naperville.

“Shimer is thrilled to have this opportunity to sustain our mission in a new context, continuing to provide an excellent liberal arts education rooted in close reading of primary texts and a discussion-based pedagogy,” said Susan E. Henking, president of Shimer College in the announcement. “We look forward to the opportunity to do so at North Central College.”

Negotiations are expected to be completed by March 1 and would then be subject to regulatory and accreditation approval.

Shimer has been a somewhat odd feature among the South Side’s colleges for a longtime. The college shares space with IIT and a teaching method with the University of Chicago, which it was partnered with from 1896-1958.

All classes at Shimer are small, often less than a dozen students, and focus on great books taught in the Socratic method in seminars. There is a heavy focus on academic writing and the school has one of the highest rates of alumni with doctorates in the country.

The entirety of the campus is currently in 17,000 square feet on two floors of the former Institute of Gas Technology building on IIT’s campus.

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