Robert Spencer Long (b. June 1927, Chicago, Illinois, USA d. 25 December 2015, San Francisco, California, USA) was a professor of physical science and the tenth president of

Shimer College Shimer Great Books School ( ) is a Classic_book#University_programs, Great Books college that is part of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Prior to 2017, Shimer was an independent, accredited college on the south side of Chicago, or ...

. Long was born on the north side of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois, USA and graduated from Roger C. Sullivan High School in the

Rogers Park Rogers Park is a neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and one of the city's 77 municipally recognized community areas. Located north of the Loop along the shore of Lake Michigan, it features green spaces, early 20th-century ...

neighborhood in 1945. After serving three years in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, he studied at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, where he obtained a BA in 1951, a Master of Science in 1955, and a Ph.D. in

Geochemistry Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the e ...

in 1964. He subsequently taught at

Nasson College Nasson College was a private four-year accredited liberal arts college in Springvale, Maine, United States, that was established in 1912 and closed in 1983. History The college was founded in 1912 as the Nasson Institute. Nasson Institute offer ...

in Maine,

New College of Florida New College of Florida is a public university, public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida, United States. The college is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. New College has the smallest student enrollment in the State U ...

, and at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

before becoming Dean at Roger Williams College. Long assumed the position of President of Shimer College on 3 June 1970, shortly after previous president Milburn Akers was killed in car accident. He took control of a college with rapidly dropping enrollment 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 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. Long later worked for 18 years at the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in Washington, DC. He spent his retirement years in San Francisco, California. He died at the age of 88 on 25 December 2015 surrounded by family.

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