Lincoln College students leave their mark on oldest building walls

LINCOLN, Ill. (WAND) - Lincoln College students and faculty are preparing for their final days on campus.

The college announced in March it would close for good. President David Gerlach cited the pandemic as one of the contributing factors to the campus closing.

"We had reached the highest full-time enrollment at Lincoln's campus in 2019. The residence halls were full and we had students living in hotels downtown that fall, but then the pandemic hit," Gerlach said.

Since the announcement, students expressed their concerns about the closure. Others felt overwhelming sadness.

Klaudia Blaszcyk, the student body president, told WAND News the mood on campus matched the rainy weather.

"It hit me a couple of days ago when everyone started leaving and we said our good-byes, but we kind of realized we weren't coming back," she said.

To keep the student legacy alive, President Gerlach allowed students to climb to the top of University Hall, the oldest building on campus, and sign their names on the walls of the cupola.

"It's really neat that students can continue to still leave a legacy," he said.

Lincoln College will hold commencement on May 7 in the Lincoln Center. It will start at 12:30 p.m. The ceremony will include graduates from the Lincoln campus, as well as from Lincoln College's Accelerated Bridge to Education program.

The keynote speaker for commencement is Reverend Glenn Shelton, who is a retired pastor and teacher at Second Baptist Church in Lincoln. He is also a former college trustee.

In addition to Shelton, Michael Phelon, the founder of The Outlet in Springfield, will also speak.

Both will be honored with a Doctorate of Humane Letters degree at Lincoln College.