Robert Eugene Glennen Jr. (March 31, 1933 – December 1, 2015) was an American education administrator, who served as

Emporia State University Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. E ...

's thirteenth president in

Emporia, Kansas Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 24,139. Emporia lies between Topeka, Kansas, Topeka and Wichita, Kansas, Wichita ...

. Before becoming president of Emporia State, Glennen also served as the tenth president at Western New Mexico University, and held various administrative jobs at the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...

, and the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

Education

Glennen received his bachelor of arts and master's degree from the

University of Portland The University of Portland (UP) is a private Catholic university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1901 and is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which also founded UP's sister school, the University of Notre Da ...

, and his doctorate from the

in 1962.

Career

1960s and '70s

After graduating from Notre Dame in 1962, Glennen was the associate dean at Notre Dame for 10 years. Following that, he became the UNLV vice-president and dean of the university's college. At both Notre Dame and UNLV, his job was to create new programs for undecided freshman students.

Presidencies

In 1980, after being at UNLV for eight years, Glennen moved to

Silver City, New Mexico Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat and the home of Western New Mexico University. As of the 2010 census the population was 10,315. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,704. History ...

, to become the tenth president of Western New Mexico University. He served as the president from 1980 to 1984. In 1984, Glennen became Emporia State University's next president.

Emporia State University

When Glennen arrived at Emporia State in July 1984, many issues were happening involving budget cuts, an enrollment decline, and even the possibility of closing the institution. One of his most successful achievements during his administration was the establishment of the National Teachers Hall of Fame, a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that honors exceptional school teachers throughout the United States. On July 31, 1997, Glennen retired as president and took a year off, before returning as a faculty member in ''The'' Teachers College in the division of counselor education and rehabilitation programs in 1998 for one year.Glennen Retires after 13 years as ESU President
/ref> He officially retired from teaching after the 1998–99 school year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glennen, Robert E 1933 births 2015 deaths Educators from Omaha, Nebraska People from Silver City, New Mexico Presidents of Emporia State University University of Nevada, Las Vegas faculty University of Notre Dame alumni University of Notre Dame faculty Western New Mexico University faculty