Wednesday, June 24, 2015

President George Ross and His Academic Journey to Central

The Clarke Historical Library works to be the source for information about the history of Central Michigan University. In addition to the basic information of who was president during World War II (Charles Anspach) or when did the football team win the National Championship (1974), we have found several wonderful stories from canine mascots of military training programs to the source of the wonderful tunes that play across campus.

Recently, we came upon a news story reporting on President Ross's comments to an audience at the weekly luncheon of the Flint Golf Club. Among the anecdotes President Ross reportedly told was the story of how he came close to quitting high school during his Junior year save for the intervention of one memorable teacher. The path to the CMU Presidency, with stops along the way at Alcorn State University, the University of Alabama, and Michigan State University among others, had an important turning point in Ms. Miriam Schaefer's math class.

We tend to think that the history of Central can be found in dusty old yearbooks or long-forgotten records of individuals from decades past. But the people who are currently at CMU are making history and their stories and backgrounds are important to understanding how we are shaping the University today and for generations to come.