Lindenwood University is a four year liberal arts college based at a 500 acre campus in the town of St. Charles, eastern Missouri. Originally the first college for women west of the Mississippi upon its founding in 1827, it has been co-educational since 1969. The university is named for the linden trees in the area, and to this day there is a tree lined pathway leading to the historic first site of the campus.

Undergraduate courses at at Lindenwood are divided into six schools; Arts & Media, Education, Humanities, Health Sciences, Business & Entrepreneurship, and Sciences.  The School of Accelerated Degree Programmes allows working adults to pursue studies in their free time. Extension sites to study at Lindenwood are available throughout the state, including the Old Post Office in St. Louis since 2016.

A centrepiece of Lindenwood is the Hammond Institute for Free Enterprise. One of the research centres within the facility is of Economics and Environment, which has a strong output of research papers. The Hammond institute is also part of the statewide Constitution Revolution launched in 2013, educating high school students in areas of journalism, crime scene investigation and trial advocacy.

Twelve men’s and thirteen women’s sport teams compete in the NCAA Division II as the Lindenwood Lions. Hunter Stadium is a year round social hub at the university, seating 7,500 for events and hosting the American football, soccer, lacrosse, and women’s field hockey programmes.

Some alumni of Lindenwood are film director Lee Daniels, fashion designer Nell Donnelly Reed, musician Thom Donovan, and Miss USA winner Shandi Finnessey.

Lindenwood has a sister college in Belleville, Illinois, that retains the name and governing board of the Missouri institution, but has been an independent institution since 2011.