William Parker McKee

[3] On July 20, 1890, she gave birth to a son, Howard Harper McKee, who subsequently became a professor of geology.

[3] In August 1897, McKee accepted an invitation from William Rainey Harper to become Dean of the Frances Shimer Academy of the University of Chicago, located in Mount Carroll, Illinois.

McKee was officially installed as Dean on July 1, 1897,[3] and moved to Mount Carroll with his mother and son in August 1897.

With McKee's installation as Dean, decisionmaking became centralized in Mount Carroll as it had been under his predecessor, school founder Frances Shimer.

[4] Frances Shimer had avoided overt fundraising and student recruitment,[7] but under McKee these were pursued aggressively.

These efforts were aided in time by the estates of Frances Shimer and longtime associate principal Adelia C.

This was considered sufficient by the board of trustees to authorize additional construction, beginning with South Hall in the summer of 1899.

[5] He was known for maintaining an atmosphere of collegiality, and created a tradition of reading James Whitcomb Riley to the students in the evenings.

This became a source of concern to the Board by 1929, and it was found that Mrs. McKee was by that time performing many of the duties of the Dean.