Edgar L. Harden - Maamawi-Ozhigi - Together We Grow

     Dr. Edgar Harden grew up in Iowa and earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees there before coming to Michigan to earn his doctorate from Wayne State University. After serving as a principal in Iowa, he came to Michigan to become principal of Battle Creek High School in 1945. Shortly after, he joined Michigan State University’s faculty and began his career in higher education. When he took the role of Northern’s president in 1956, the college had been struggling with low enrollment and the small economy of the Upper Peninsula, and Harden was told to either close the institution or fix it. Well, fix it he did. President Harden is arguably one of NMU’s best-remembered presidents (along with President Jamrich): the college (and then university) changed drastically throughout his time as its leader, growing from 888 to 7085 students from 1955 to 1967. He stood by his “right to try” philosophy, and advocated for every individual’s right to take their shot at a college education if they wanted to. The curriculum and faculty also expanded during this time. Although the end of his tenure was marked by the McClellan Controversy (see https://archives.nmu.edu/studentprotests/the%20mcclellan%20controversy.html for more information), President Harden maintained a positive reputation for being a hardworking leader devoted to expanding accessibility to higher education, and the Harden Learning Resources Center was named in his honor. He later became president of Michigan State University.