Dr. Dwight Bryant Waldo (June 13, 1864 – October 29, 1939) was the first President of

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

(WMU) in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

. Waldo was born in Arcade, N.Y. but spent his childhood in

Plainwell, Michigan Plainwell is a city in Allegan County, Michigan, Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,788 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Plainwell is located on M-89 (Michigan highway), M-89 just east of its junctio ...

. Waldo was elected principal of WMU on April 1, 1904. He served as president from 1904 through 1936. When Western Michigan first opened, it was known as the

Western State Normal School Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the train ...

and later as the Western State Teachers College. One of Waldo's first moves, creating a rural school department, cemented WMU as a teaching college. It was the first such department in the nation and prepared teachers to effectively educate students in rural parts of America. Waldo also firmly believed in diversity on campus, and during his tenure many females and minorities were given the opportunity to attend the college. In the beginning Western Michigan served as a two-year normal school, but under Waldo's guidance it was soon structured into a four-year

teachers college Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...

. He also served as one of the first instructors at WMU. Waldo is credited with keeping WMU open when many government officials wanted to shut it during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. The school's football stadium (

Waldo Stadium Waldo Stadium is a stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It is primarily used for football, and has been the home of Western Michigan University Broncos football in rudimentary form since 1914, and as a complete stadium since 1939. It currently has ...

) and library ( Waldo Library) are named in his honor. In 1912,

Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo College is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833 by American Baptist Churches USA, Baptist ministers as the Michigan and Huron Institute, K ...

awarded Waldo a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

as an honorary degree for his accomplishments at WMU. In 1932,

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

awarded Waldo an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

. Waldo was born in Arcade, New York, son of Simeon Smith Waldo and Martha Ann Bryant Waldo, during the final year of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. He and his family moved to Plainwell, Michigan in about 1874. Waldo graduated from Plainwell High School and went on to attend Michigan State Agricultural College (now Michigan State University) and receive an MA from

Albion College Albion College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students as of Fall 2021 ...

. He married first Minnie Strong (children: Herbert (born 1894) and Ruth (born 1895)) and after Minnie's death, he married Eliza Lilian Trudgeon on September 14, 1904 (children: Elizabeth (born 1908), Barbara (born 1911) and Dorothy (born 1919)). Waldo was noted for his interest and research into the life of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. His personal collection of Lincoln memorabilia is one of many displays at Waldo Library. A WMU librarian and Dwight Waldo Historian stated, "Waldo's vision, 'tough love' leadership style and unique combination of

pragmatism Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that views language and thought as tools for prediction, problem solving, and action, rather than describing, representing, or mirroring reality. Pragmatists contend that most philosophical topics� ...

and

idealism Idealism in philosophy, also known as philosophical realism or metaphysical idealism, is the set of metaphysics, metaphysical perspectives asserting that, most fundamentally, reality is equivalent to mind, Spirit (vital essence), spirit, or ...

are legendary around campus and Kalamazoo". Waldo had a pet parrot named "Jimmy Boy." Despite claims that he walked around campus with the parrot, there is no evidence of this. Prior to assuming his leadership role at Western Michigan, Waldo was the first principal at Northern State Normal School (now

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designa ...

) where he served from 1899 to 1904, and additionally served as the Department Chair of the History Department. 100 years after Waldo came to Western Michigan another Northern Michigan president, Judith Bailey, would follow in his footsteps to help Western Michigan kick off its "Centennial Campaign" after arriving in 2003. Waldo was also a history and economics teacher at

before becoming principal at Northern State.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldo, Dwight B. Presidents of Western Michigan University 1864 births 1939 deaths People from Arcade, New York People from Plainwell, Michigan Albion College alumni Albion College faculty