Charles McKenny (Sep. 15, 1860-Sep. 23, 1933) was president of Central State Normal School (now

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

Milwaukee State Normal School Wisconsin State College of Milwaukee was a predecessor institution of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Founded in 1885 as Wisconsin State Normal School, it became Wisconsin State Teachers College-Milwaukee in 1927, and Wisconsin State Coll ...

(a predecessor of

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

) and Michigan State Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University). McKenny was born in

Dimondale, Michigan Dimondale is a village in Eaton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,234 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Windsor Charter Township. Dimondale is a suburb of Lansing, which is northeast of the village in In ...

. He received his bachelor's degree in 1881 from Michigan State Agricultural College (now

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

) and masters from both Olivet College and the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. McKenny married Minnie E. Alderman (1869–1942) in 1890. She was a native of

Vermontville, Michigan Vermontville is a village in Eaton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 759 at the 2010 census. It is located within Vermontville Township. Vermontville is home to the original maple syrup festival in Michigan, held the last ...

. They had three children, Charles Arthur McKenny, Laurence A. McKenny and Marion Louise McKenny. Laurence joined the Army Air Corps during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was killed in action during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

McKenny begin his career as a teacher at

Charlotte, Michigan Charlotte ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,074. It is the county seat of Eaton County. Charlotte is in the central portion of the county, on the boundary between Eaton Township and C ...

. He then went to teach at Vermontville. In 1895-1896 he was a professor at Olivet College. In 1896 he became principal of Central State Normal School where he remained as president until 1899. In 1900, he became principal of Milwaukee State Normal School where he remained until 1912. He then took the presidency at the Michigan State Normal College (MSNC), now Eastern Michigan University. He started his administration at MSNC by instituting rules against female students having "gentleman callers" visit them in their rooms, only allowing them to visit in parlors. He also instituted rules to cut down on automobile and canoe use by female students, especially with males. The student body of MSNC at the time was overwhelmingly female. During his presidency, he proposed and then oversaw the construction of MSNC's student union, named

McKenny Union McKenny Hall, previously called McKenny Union and Charles McKenny Union, was the first student union on the campus of the Michigan State Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University) in Ypsilanti, Michigan. At various times the building has in ...

(now McKenny Hall) in his honor. This was the first student union building built in the United States at an institution of higher learning primarily aimed at training teachers. McKenny remained president of MSNC until April 1933 when he became president emeritus. He died the following September. In 1910 a book by McKenny entitled ''The Personality of the Teacher'' was published.ebay listing of a copy of the book by McKenny
/ref>

Sources

* Eastern Michigan University archives, papers and find-aid biography of McKenny. * ''Ypsilanti Daily Press'', October 1, 1912

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenny, Charles Presidents of Eastern Michigan University Presidents of Central Michigan University Olivet College alumni Olivet College faculty University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Michigan State University alumni People from Eaton County, Michigan 1860 births 1933 deaths