Harlan Hatcher

Harlan Henthorne Hatcher served as the eighth President of the University of Michigan from 1951 to 1967.

Early life

Hatcher was born on September 9, 1898, in Ironton, Ohio. He received bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Ohio State University, specializing in American literature. He did postgraduate work at the University of Chicago and in 1928 traveled throughout Europe to study Renaissance literature.

He worked as a professor of American literature at Ohio State University, then as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio State in 1944, and as vice president in 1948. He wrote three novels and several academic volumes.

In 1951, Hatcher became the eighth President of the University of Michigan. He led the post-war expansion of the university, overseeing the construction of the North Campus. He established Flint Senior College and the Dearborn Center with funding from the state's auto industry, which later developed into branch campuses. He stepped down in 1967. In 1968, the university voted to rename the General Library to the Hatcher Graduate Library in honor of President Hatcher.

In 1954, Hatcher condoned the hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee and fired two faculty members for suspicions of Communism.