Founded in 1853 by pioneering Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, Monmouth College brought the blessings of civilization to the people of the rough frontier and spoke of traditional values to those who were shaping a new world. Though today our life knows different frontiers, the College still thinks of its purpose as its founders did—preserving and celebrating the traditions that have been entrusted to it while promoting discovery and investigation. Although the student body today includes many who come from far beyond western Illinois, Today, through its Midwest Matters initiative, Monmouth continues to have a strong sense of identity the region in which it is proudly rooted.

Unusual for the time, Monmouth College was created a coeducational institution. Indeed, it was one of the first colleges to give women equality with men, and, not surprisingly, women’s interests have been prominent in the College’s history.

The College’s chief interest lies in providing its students a generous understanding of human experience; individual disciplines receive their sense of direction from that larger commitment rather than permitting the specific interest to become an end in itself.