LIM College Records

LIM College was founded in 1939 as the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (also known as LIM) by Maxwell F. Marcuse and two associates from the fashion industry. Maxwell Marcuse had been an executive at stores such as Macy’s and Oppenheim Collins before founding LIM. He had advised New York University on the founding of their now defunct Graduate School of Retailing and was a member of the Board of Higher Education of the City of New York. The first location of the school was 45 West 34th Street. The school originally only offered a certificate program and only women attended. The certificate took an academic year to complete. The school added a two-year course in 1947. A high school graduate could take the two-year course. The one-year course was limited to students with one year or more of college. LIM’s original mission was to give students hands-on training and practical work experience, which at the time was unheard of in the field of retail. Previously, most women who wanted to work in retail had to start as a sales person before they could become a buyer. This hands-on training was known as a “work project” and was completed in both the one-year program and the two-year program. In the beginning, these positions were sales related. By working during the Christmas and spring (Easter) breaks, LIM students were able to gain the practical work experience needed to become buyers when they left school. The school moved to 677 Fifth Avenue in 1959, following the trend of many of upscale retailers. In 1962, Adrian G. Marcuse, Maxwell Marcuse’s son, joined the school as Vice President. Adrian Marcuse was instrumental in purchasing 12 East 53rd Street (also known as the Townhouse) in 1965, where the College is still located. This building is considered the flagship building of the LIM campus. In 1970, seniors were eligible to do their Senior work project in London. The College became co-ed in 1971 and was then granted the authority to confer associates degrees. Adrian Marcuse assumed the presidency of LIM in 1972 and Maxwell Marcuse assumed the role of Chairman of the Board. In 1977, the Middle States Association grants the school accreditation. Also in 1977, the Fashion Education Foundation was founded (as a separate entity) to provide scholarships for LIM students. The Foundation also provides funds for research by faculty and by the industry. LIM was authorized to grant a bachelor’s degree in 1982. The degree offered was a Bachelor of Professional Studies. In 1985, the first bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising was awarded. Students who wanted to pursue the bachelor’s degree had to have completed an associate’s degree or 60 credit hours of college work. In 1996, LIM was granted permission to give students a Bachelor of Business Administration. Elizabeth S. Marcuse, Adrian Marcuse’s daughter, joined LIM as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 2001. In the same year, the enrollment of LIM grew to about 350 students. The following year, Elizabeth Marcuse assumed the role as President. In 2003, LIM expanded to include the building at 226 East 54th Street when enrollment had approached nearly 500 students. The following year, the school expanded again to 216 East 45th Street (also known as Maxwell Hall), which added 25,000 square feet of space. The College added 545 Fifth Avenue in 2006 which includes a Materials Lab for Visual Merchandising. After surpassing enrollment of 1300 students, the College officially changed its name from the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising to LIM College in August 2009. Presently, LIM College is continually expanding through increased enrollment, a distance learning program through online course offerings, and graduate programs.