The collection consists of President Plachta’s subject and correspondence files on a wide variety of CMU related topics, organizations, people, and events, including larger sections documenting scholarships, the Board of Trustees, and various colleges and universities. Speeches, 1992-1996 (.5 cubic ft.) are also included. They are mostly Addresses to Campus or the Academic Senate. One folder of Biographical Materials precedes the Speeches.
Processing Note: Duplicates, reading or FYI materials, and papers with social security numbers were removed from the collection during processing.
Biography:
Leonard E. Plachta was born on April 23, 1929. He received his B. A. and M. B. A. from the University of Detroit and his Ph. D. from Michigan State University. Prior to his arrival at Central Michigan University (CMU) he was a faculty member and department chairman at Alma College and at the University of Detroit.
He joined the faculty at CMU as a business professor in 1972. Eventually, he climbed the ranks and was named Dean of the College of Business Education. Dr. Plachta was then named to serve as CMU’s Interim President following the resignation of President Edward Jakubauskas in January 1992.
In October 1994, he was named as CMU’s eleventh President. As president of CMU, Dr. Plachta focused on developing effective academic programs, treating students as customers through improved student services, and creating an efficient management and financial structure. Dr. Plachta stepped down as President of CMU on July 31, 2000.
In 2001, Dr. Plachta was still very much a part of the CMU community having returned to his roots as a professor in the College of Business Administration. He formally retired from CMU in 2002.
Dr. Plachta and his wife, Louise, CMU’s Campus Ambassador Emeritus, are the proud parents of two daughters.
In the fall of 2000, the CMU Board of Trustees honored Dr. and Mrs. Plachta by changing the name of the newly renovated Warriner Auditorium to Plachta Auditorium.
Leonard Plachta died on January 22, 2008 in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. (This information is taken from the collection and from the CMU Office of the President’s website.)
