List of presidents of Eastern Michigan University explained

The following is a complete list of presidents of Eastern Michigan University. This list includes previous presidents under the school's past names Eastern Michigan College, Michigan State Normal College, and Michigan State Normal School. Prior to the Normal School's elevation to collegiate status, presidents were called "Principal."

A total of 26 people have served as the president: 24 men (including three interim appointments) and 2 women (including one interim appointment).

List of presidents

No.	Inst.	Full name	Start	End	Namesake(s)	Notes	Ref.
1	MSNS	Adonijah Strong Welch	1851	1865	Welch Hall, currently housing administrative offices		^[1]
2		David Porter Mayhew	1865	1870	Parking lots Mayhew 1 & 2 near the Village and Towers are named after Mayhew^[2]
3		Charles FitzRoy Bellows	1870	1871
4		Joseph Estabrook	1871	1880
5		Malcolm MacVicar	1880	1881
6		Daniel Putnam	1880	1883	Putnam Hall, a residence hall
7		Edwin Willits	1883	1885
8		Daniel Putnam	1885	1886
9		John Mayhelm Barry Sill	1886	1893	Sill Hall, home to the Fine and Industrial Arts programs	Sill was a member of the first graduating class of MSNS, in 1854.
10		Richard Gause Boone	1893	1899	Boone Hall		^[3]
11	MSNS MSNC	Elmer A. Lyman	1900	1902
12	MSNC	Lewis Henry Jones	1903	1911	Jones Hall, a residence hall
13		Charles McKenny	1912	1933	McKenny Hall, the first student union on the campus of a teachers' college		^[4] ^[5]
14	MSNC	John M. Munson	1933	1948	Munson Hall, a residence hall
15	MSNC EMC EMU	Eugene B. Elliott	1948	1965		Elliott oversaw the transition from Michigan State Normal College to Eastern Michigan College and finally Eastern Michigan University.
16	EMU	Harold E. Sponberg	1965	1974	Sponberg Theater
17		Ralph Gilden	1974	1974		Interim president for six months following Sponberg's retirement.
18		James H. Brickley	1974	1978
19		John W. Porter	1979	1989	Porter Building, housing the College of Education
20		William E. Shelton	1989	2000		Presided over the 1991 mascot change
21		Samuel A. Kirkpatrick	2001	2004		Resigned under pressure after spending $6 million on a new president's house and alumni facility.
22		Craig D. Willis	2004	2005		Served a one-year appointment as interim president
23		John A. Fallon III	2005	2007		Fired following the Laura Dickinson murder
24		Donald M. Loppnow	2007	2008		Served a one-year appointment as interim president
25		Susan Martin	2008	2015		First female president of EMU.
26		Kim Schatzel	July 8, 2015	January 7, 2016		Interim appointment	^[6]
27		Donald Loppnow	January 8, 2016	June 30, 2016		Interim appointment	^[7]
28		James M. Smith	July 1, 2016	present			^[8]
MSNS-Michigan State Normal School MSNC-Michigan State Normal College EMC-Eastern Michigan College EMU-Eastern Michigan University

Notes and References

1. Web site: EMU Presidents. EMU Presidents. emu. 5 July 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120819071126/http://www.emich.edu/walkingtour/leaders.htm. 19 August 2012.
2. Web site: Mayhew. Mayhew. Emich.edu. 10 October 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130716190540/http://livemap.emich.edu/campuslife/index.html. 16 July 2013.
3. Eastern Michigan University, ‘’Vital statistics Regarding Campus Buildings’’ August 24, 1964, document in EMU Archives.
4. Web site: Eastern Michigan University wins historic preservation award . 2009-06-24 . 2010-02-20 . MLive.com . Heflin . Cindy.
5. Web site: EMU Virtual Tour: McKenny Union . 2010-02-20 . Eastern Michigan University . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100527211526/http://www.emich.edu/walkingtour/mckenny.htm . 2010-05-27 .
6. News: EMU regents name Provost Kim Schatzel interim president . Freed, Ben . MLive.com . April 9, 2015 . 2015-10-30 .
7. News: Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents appoints Donald Loppnow to serve as interim president, effective January 8, 2016. Kraft, Walter. EMU Division of Communications. December 21, 2015 . 2016-01-07 .
8. Web site: Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents elects James M. Smith as University’s 23rd president. www.emich.edu. 2016-07-23.