Ethical Treatment of Animals staged a small protest in Saint Charles in response to the program. The Spellmann administration's focus on enrollment growth made Lindenwood the fastest-growing university in the Midwest during the time from the mid-1990s into the early 2000s. In 2006, Dennis Spellmann died by which time the university had seen its endowment grow to more than $50 million. James Evans became Lindenwood's 21st president on February 9, 2007.
=== Recent history ===
Expansion continued under Evans. The J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts, a performance and fine arts center, opened in late 2008 at a cost of $32 million. The university also constructed new dormitories and began building a new home for university presidents. Construction of Evans Commons began in 2009 and was completed during the summer of 2011. In 2011, Lindenwood University became the Lindenwood University System. Lindenwood University-Belleville transitioned from a satellite campus to a separately accredited college. The university …
