Remembering President Plachta
By Barbara Sutherland Chovanec
Photos by Robert Barclay and Peggy Brisbane
CMU President Emeritus Leonard Plachta, who led the university from 1992 through 2000, is remembered as a determined leader who treated everyone with respect.
He died January 22 at Central Michigan Community Hospital in Mount Pleasant at age 78.
Plachta, who came to CMU in 1971 as a visiting professor of accounting before joining the faculty in 1972, served as assistant dean and dean of the College of Business Administration prior to assuming the presidency. Plachta was interim president from January 1992 until October 1, 1993, when the board of trustees granted him the permanent position, which he held until July 2000. Plachta returned to CMU’s faculty from 2001 to 2002 before retiring from the university.
Shortly after his presidency ended, Plachta and his wife, Louise, were honored by CMU’s Board of Trustees with the naming of Plachta Auditorium in Warriner Hall. They also received the university’s Distinguished Service Award, the highest non-academic honor bestowed by the university, and were honored on “Plachta Day” November 11, 2000.
“Leonard and Louise warmly welcomed Monica, Miguel, and me when we arrived and showed immediate support for us,” says CMU President Michael Rao. “From the time that we arrived, it became obvious that Leonard dedicated himself in an exceptional way to the advancement of Central Michigan University.”
Philip Kintzele, chairman of the School of Accounting, remembers meeting Plachta on a cold, icy St. Patrick’s Day evening in 1980 when Kintzele drove to CMU from Ohio to interview for a faculty job.
Plachta was acting dean at that time and was the first person from CMU whom Kintzele met. As two accountants, they had an immediate bond. They became colleagues and friends and remained close until Plachta’s death.
Kintzele says part of Plachta’s legacy is his persistence in gaining accreditation in the early 1980s for CMU’s College of Business Administration – what was then the School of Business.
“They had tried for accreditation by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in the 1970s but didn’t get it,” Kintzele says. In response, the business school hired faculty, changed the curriculum, upgraded facilities and equipment, and applied for accreditation in 1981 – just to be turned down again.
But Plachta wouldn’t accept the denial. As dean he led the school through an appeals process that resulted in accreditation.
“We had to decide whether to let it go or pursue it,” Kintzele says. “He pursued it. That really started to put him on the map in terms of effective leadership. That’s an important part of his legacy at CMU.”
“President Emeritus Plachta’s focused efforts when he was president set the stage for us to come in and take the university to the next level nationally,” Rao says. “He led initiatives to improve programs both on and off campus and oversaw many upgrades to CMU’s physical learning environment. He also dealt with significant fiscal issues and established efficiencies that benefit the university today.”
During Plachta’s presidency, he led fundraising efforts to build CMU’s Applied Business Studies Complex. In addition, he was president when CMU became the first Michigan university to license a charter school.
Plachta initiated one of the first leadership scholar programs in the country featuring scholarships and a four-year educational protocol designed to help students develop ethical leadership skills they can apply in their professions.
Among Plachta’s other achievements was expansion of the university’s off-campus programs unit. New initiatives included educational programs linked to the revitalization of Detroit, increased use of technology supporting distance learning, and the development of the nation’s first bachelor’s degree in vehicle design.
In addition, Plachta oversaw significant upgrading of classrooms and facilities, including new music and science buildings, new and renovated athletic facilities, and the renovation and expansion of the Charles V. Park Library.
He also was an advocate for adding and enhancing physical therapy, physician assistant, audiology, and other programs that benefit the health care needs of rural, aging populations. In early 1999, he helped secure legislative approval for the planning of CMU’s Health Professions Building.
Kintzele says some of Plachta’s defining personal characteristics were loyalty and respect.
“He was a loyal person, beyond what you would normally think of as loyal to your family or an organization,” Kintzele says. “He was really focused on the individual he was speaking with and was loyal in that way. He wasn’t thinking ahead to what he had to do next.
“And he always treated people with respect,” he says. “It didn’t matter who you were or, in some cases, how you treated him. He would never be disrespectful to anyone.”
Plachta also had a strong sense of integrity.
“When he explained things to different people or different audiences, you heard the same thing from him,” Kintzele says. “He told you the facts of the situation. He didn’t just tell you what you wanted to hear. This built respect for him.”
“President Emeritus Plachta is greatly respected, fondly remembered, and dearly missed by the CMU community,” Rao says. “His passing serves as a reminder that we all get only so much time to live, so we should live the years we have as Leonard did – by giving to and caring about each other.”
A funeral mass took place January 25 at Sacred Heart Parish in Mount Pleasant, and a memorial celebration took place on campus February 10 in Plachta Auditorium. Memorial contributions may be made to the Sacred Heart Academy Foundation, CMU Development, or the Isabella Community Soup Kitchen. •
