Western Michigan University's McCracken Hall. Marissa Ingle/Western Herald
By Kevin Doby
Western Herald
Western Michigan University’s McCracken Hall opened its doors for students in 1949.
Since then, it was renovated in the late 1960’s and in 1983, and now most of the classes that it once held have moved to newer buildings.
However, the history behind McCracken runs deep at WMU. Before Dwight Waldo founded WMU, he started a school in the Upper Peninsula, which is now Northern Michigan University. His first hire at the school was William McCracken.
When Waldo opened Western State Teachers College, now WMU, he brought McCracken along.
In the WMU archives, pictures McCracken portrayed him as Waldo’s right-hand man. When The State Board of Education honored Waldo in 1936 for his roles at WMU and NMU, two professors were honored along side of him.
The other professors honored were Ernest Burnham, Waldo’s first hire at WMU, and McCracken.
McCraken was more than just a professor during his time here. Waldo served as president for the first 37 years that WMU was in operation except the 1922-23 school year.
During that year, he helped a small school in Washington get off the ground and had McCracken take over as president for the year.
An article from the June 27 edition of the Western Herald in 1923 proclaimed the previous year under McCracken as the best year WMU had ever had. The article lists some of the achievements during the year including some 800 graduates, the creation of a school band, an undefeated football season, and the groundbreaking of a new library and men’s gymnasium.
In his years at WMU not acting as president, McCracken was a science professor and the head of the chemistry department when it first was created.
The building named for him housed labs and classrooms for the chemistry department.
The WMU archives provided detailed information about the renovation and addition to McCracken Hall, which took place over four years from 1965-1969. During this addition more labs and offices were added along with safety precautions like hoods and fire extinguishers.
There was a small fire during renovation in 1965, which alerted the university that fire extinguishers needed to be in classrooms. Previously extinguishers were held in a small closet that prevented the fire from being put out immediately.
McCracken also loved the school where he worked. At the school’s 25th anniversary gala, McCracken composed an eleven-line choral interlude about the school.
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