Thomas K. Lindsay, Deputy Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, has been named President of Shimer College. Tom joined the NEH in 2006 to direct the We the People program and went on to become NEH’s Deputy Chair and Chief Operating Officer. At the NEH, Tom has been responsible for implementing Picturing America, a program that employs great works of art to help students better understand American history and culture. Prior to joining the NEH senior staff, Tom served on the National Council on the Humanities, the advisory board to the NEH.

Bruce Cole, NEH Chairman, remarks that “In Tom Lindsay, Shimer has brought on a president who not only is a premier scholar and teacher, but also possesses impeccable personal integrity and the deepest passion for liberal education.”

Tom has served in higher education for more than 25 years as a professor and administrator. He began his academic administrative career in 1999 as Dean of the Graduate School and Director of the Institute of Philosophical Studies at the University of Dallas where he also served as Provost.

“I’m excited at becoming part of the Shimer community,” said Lindsay. “As one of the few Great Books schools in the world, Shimer teaches us that the greatest of all our liberties is the liberty of the mind."

Tom was born and raised in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. His doctoral thesis examined Aristotle’s concept of self-government. Tom’s research focuses on the relationship between democracy and education as articulated in both classical political philosophy and at the American Founding. His articles have appeared in the American Political Science Review, the Journal of Politics, and the American Journal of Political Science. In 1999, Tom won the Pi Sigma Alpha/American Political Science Association Award for Outstanding Teaching.

Chris Nelson, Chair of Shimer’s Board of Trustees and President of St. John’s College says “Tom brings a passion for and commitment to the Great Books curriculum and Shimer’s pedagogy.” Welcome, Tom!

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
John Meech
Director of Advancement
Shimer College
3424 S. State St.
Chicago, IL 60616
Ph: 312-235-3540
E-mail: here