Selected Bibliography for the 125<sup>th</sup> Anniversary of Central Michigan University

Abstract

The Michigan Historical Review 43:2 (Fall 2017): 65-80©2017 Central Michigan University. ISSN 0890-1686 All Rights Reserved Selected Bibliography for the 125th Anniversary of Central Michigan University By Susan Eileen Paton In 1892, twelve Mount Pleasant, Michigan, businessmen formed a committee and set their sights on building a teacher training school. They sold stock and prospective housing lots to buy the old Hursh farmland south of town and contracted with Professor Charles F. R. Bellows to head the school. Thus, the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute was born with thirty-one students in attendance that first year. In 1895, the Michigan State Board of Education assumed control of the school, an occasion met with much celebratory bonfires and banquets in Mount Pleasant. In 1918, the school, now boasting five buildings, awarded its first Bachelor of Arts degree. The name changed several times over the next few decades until 1959 when, with a student population of just over 4,500, it became Central Michigan University. Today, that original 10-acre plot has grown to 480 acres, and the 28,000 students enrolled at CMU can choose classes from over 200 academic programs. This selected bibliography is arranged in a loosely chronological format and by no means does it include all the archival material on the school’s history housed at CMU’s Clarke Historical Library, but it offers a glimpse at the wealth of records, be they letters, diaries, photographs, minutes, reports, or films that await any curious researcher. Announcement of Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute Reproduction of the original 1892 twenty-one-page document; it was reprinted by the Clarke library for the 75th anniversary in 1967. College of Education vertical files Files run from 1892 on up to 1998, beginning with Normal School and then Teachers College records, and include ads, bulletins, newsletters, handbooks, and more. Also included are materials from the 1950s and 1960s on Rural School Management and the Teacher Education Project. 66 The Michigan Historical Review Central Michigan Normal School Class of 1896 Normal school photo album Small photo album with thirty-five images of professor portraits, student activities, Chippewa River excursions, an ice storm, and several female students, perhaps friends of the album’s owner, Christine Weideman, a student at the time (1893-1895). The First Hundred Years: A Portrait of Central Michigan University, 1892-1992, by John Cumming A richly detailed history including construction, leaders, and social life, with a section on campus adjustments that touches on such varied topics as faculty collective bargaining and alcohol misuse. A History of the Mathematics Department, Central Michigan University, 18921992 , by James K. Bidwell Written for CMU’s centennial, this book covers department and faculty activities as well as course chronology. CMU Bibliography 67 Proudly We Serve: Historical Sketches of Central Michigan College by Administration, 1892-1955, by Rolland Harper Maybee, with Victor P. Croftchik and Irwin M. Campbell Booklet from 1955 of Central’s earlier years organized by college presidents, includes photos. A History of the Department of Health Education at Central Michigan University, 1892-1977, by Sherri C. LeClear Masters’ thesis (1979) covering the growth of the Health Education department and faculty activities during these years. How Sweet is Your Suite: A History of Housing at Central Michigan University, by Donald W. Kilbourn Divided into two parts (1892-1958 and 1959-1980), this book offers histories and recollections of every dorm on campus. Central Michigan University, by Jack Westbrook History of Central from 1892-2007 (the year it was published), packed with photographs. Oversized images Images include a range of years, beginning with commencement photos of the 1890s on up to a 1969 sepia-tone print of Warriner Hall. Normal School Class of 1898 photo album Album includes sixty-one formal portraits of staff and students of the Normal School in 1898. Album has a black cover with a gold-lettered title; inscription reads “Courtesy of Mrs. A. E. Gorham.” Student Personnel, Course History of Central Michigan College 1903-1954 A listing of all courses offered during the years 1903-1954, from “aeronautics” to “speech & drama.” 68 The Michigan Historical Review Central Normal School campus in 1923, looking south...