Leonard Plachta Family Papers, 1929-2018 (Scattered), and undated

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Central Michigan University Clarke Historical Library

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Mount Pleasant, MI 48859, USA

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Restrictions:: Leonard Plachta Family Papers are open for research.

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Summary

Creator:: Plachta, Leonard.
Abstract:: This collection consists of the family papers of Leonard E. and Louise A. Plachta, providing a personal view into their childhoods, university experiences, married life and relationship with each other, friends, and relatives through their correspondence, and careers, mainly in Detroit and Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
Extent:: 2.25 cubic feet (in 5 boxes)
Language:: English
Authors:: Collection processed and finding aid created by Marian Matyn

Background

Scope and Content:

This collection consists of the family papers of Leonard E. and Louise A. Plachta, providing a personal view into their childhoods, university experiences, married life and relationship with each other, friends, and relatives through their correspondence, and careers, mainly in Detroit and Mount Pleasant, Michigan. While most of the collection is in English, some correspondence, stories, family history and vital records, and school grades are in Polish. The collection is organized by creator and then alphabetically by topic and, finally, chronologically. Physically, the collection is in very good condition. Boxes 1-4 are letter-size .5 cubic foot and Box 5 is a letter-size .25 cubic foot box.

The Papers of Leonard E. Plachta:

The Papers of Leonard E. Plachta (in Boxes 1-3) includes his family history with family tree information, and his elementary grades (some in Polish) and high school grades and activities, such as childhood photographs and his Safety Patrol Pledge, Grade 7-8. His university materials included applications, in which he wrote about his hopes, dreams, interests, and lack of parental support to pursue a college degree. His university degrees and related commencement materials are included. There is one folder each of material documenting his wedding to Louise, and another his army training. We see some of his personal relationships with each other and family in Correspondence, from Leonard to Louise,; and in Correspondence, Personal to Leonard, Leonard and Louise.

The majority of his papers focuses his career at Central Michigan University (CMU His Annual Personal Data Report (Academic Accomplishments), are annual reports of his professorial academic accomplishments in the Business School. When he became Dean of the CMU Business School he wrote Some Thoughts on Becoming Dean of the School of Business Administration at CMU]. Photographs of Dean Plachta with students, other CMU faculty and administrators, and when he attended the Small Business Institute Award Dinners also document his time as dean.

Most of the CMU material is from his tenure as CMU president. When he became Interim President he received numerous congratulatory notes. Those retained in the collection are from CMU and Mount Pleasant people, among them former CMU Presidents Harold Abel and William B. Boyd, presidents of other universities, and Michigan politicians and businessmen. Other materials documenting his tenure as CMU president include: CMU Agreement with Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara (student exchange program established), 1993; a Caricature by Paco; CMU Correspondence, Thank yous for Hospitality to Leonard and Louise from Alumni Class 1947 for their 50th Reunion; an invitation to the CMU Robert and Marjorie Griffin Endowed Chair in American Government Celebration Dinner; Morning Sun Interview Materials; Photographs in the collection document Awards and Recognition Events, one with Governor Jennifer Granholm, Commencements, 1992-1995, 1997; Groundbreaking, Official Building Openings and other events, Homecoming, 1995 and 1997; Students, Alums; and international visits to Villa Bosch, a conference center, in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Tatsuzawa Educational Establishments (Morioka Chou Senior High School),a preeminent private high school, in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Demands for his resignation in 1998 are documented in the folder labeled CMU Students Demand Plachta’s Resignation.

His retirement and honors received afterwards are documented by Awards and Certificates, Leonard and Louise together; CMU Correspondence, Congratulations Upon His Retirement; CMU Plachta Day, Dinner Invitation; CMU President Mike Rao, Goals, Strategic Plans, Correspondence. Certificates and awards, newspaper clippings, plaques, and CMU Correspondence- General span his entire career or entire life. There is one folder of materials from the semester he taught at Michigan State University. An overall view about him is provided by his obituary and self-generated biographical materials.

The Papers of Louise Plachta:

The Papers of Louise Plachta (in Boxes 4-5) document her family history in copies of her parents’ vital records, stories, and correspondence (some in Polish from her mother and other relatives), and secondary education with childhood elementary grades (some in Polish) and high school grades and class anniversary materials. Her University of Detroit materials include her degree. The one folder of their wedding material is filed under Leonard’s name. Her writing is documented in her English papers, Correspondence, and Stories, h Interview materials, Articles, and Speeches. Materials specifically related to her time at CMU include: Caricature by Paco, Brent Wisher; Certificates; her CMU Master of Arts Degree in Case; CMU Plachta Scholarships and Awards Materials; Identity Cards; her unofficial Correspondence, re: Leonard Resigning; all but one of her English papers; most of her Photographs and CMU Photo Identity Card; ‘Robert Frost and the rural’ CMU Bohannon Schoolhouse, Program, and Photographs; and two plaques. An overview of her life is found in her photographs, resume, and obituary.

Researchers may also be interested in the official CMU Office of the President Papers of Leonard E. Plachta, which are administrative in nature. For more detail please see that finding aid. Additional materials about both Plachtas may be found in multiple manuscript collections in the Clarke, especially those related to public relations, as well as digitized CMU publications. A copy of his 1964 dissertation, A search for a proper accounting for the issuance of stock dividends, is also available in the Clarke.

Processing Note: Approximately 1 cubic foot of materials were removed from the collection during processing including: miscellaneous financial information, pay raise requests, benefits information, letters of recommendation, generic travel mementos, generic correspondence, information with social security numbers, unidentified photographs, CMU publications (duplicates) and acidic materials, mainly newspaper clippings (copies were retained). Material of a more personal nature were returned to the donor as per the donor agreement.

Biographical / Historical:

Biography:

Leonard E. Plachta (April 23, 1929-January 22, 2008) was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Louis and Veronica (Ozymkowski) Plachta. Leonard also had a brother and sister. He attended several elementary schools including Our Lady of the Angels, where students were taught in Polish, which was a language he did not know although he was of Polish American descent. This made his early school years challenging and, as a result, he did not like nor excel in school until high school. His father died when he was a teenager. He graduated from St. Andrew High School, Detroit in 1947.

After training at Fort Belvoir (Va.), he served in the U.S. Army as a topographer in the Philippines during the Korean Conflict.

He then earned a B.S. in Accounting (1956) and a MBA in Finance (1959) from the University of Detroit, now University of Detroit-Mercy. In 1964 he earned a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Michigan State University. His postdoctoral studies in 1965 were sponsored by the Ford Foundation at the University of Chicago.

During his career, Dr. Plachta was employed as a professor by the University of Detroit, 1961-1970, Michigan State University, Fall 1967, Alma College, 1971-1972, and Central Michigan University (CMU), 1972-1977. In 1978 he and his family moved to Mount Pleasant and he became Assistant Dean of the then Business School, now School of Business Administration. He served as Acting Dean and then Dean, 1980-1992. Plachta was appointed as Interim President of CMU, January 5, 1992, and appointed as President of CMU October 1, 1993. While president, he focused on developing effective academic programs, improving student services, and creating an efficient management and financial structure. President Plachta had many friends at CMU and in the community, but did endure a period of campus protest against his leadership in 1998. Plachta resigned from the presidency June 30, 2000. Mike Rao succeeded him as CMU President.

Active in his community, Dr. Plachta served on the boards of the Sacred Heart Academy Foundation, Central Michigan Community Hospital, and CMU Development, among others. He and his family were members of Sacred Heart Parish. In his spare time he owned and ran thoroughbred horses. He was interested in the stock market and finances. He counseled students in entrepreneurial students at CMU.

He married Louise A. Szynal on September 2, 1957 at St. Barbara Catholic Church, Dearborn. Together they loving raised two daughters, Laura and Linda.

Dr. Plachta died on January 22, 2008 and was survived by his wife, children, seven grandchildren, and his brother. At CMU Warriner Auditorium was renamed Plachta Auditorium and the Leonard E. Plachta and the Leonard E. Plachta Education Center was named in his honor. Also, the Dr. Leonard E. and Louise A. Plachta Endowment Fund was established through the Mount Pleasant Area Community Foundation. In 2013 he was posthumously inducted as a prior faculty member in the CMU College of Business Administration Hall of Fame. (This information is from his obituary and the collection and CMU websites.)

Louise Amelia (Szynal) Plachta (October 8, 1925-February 2, 2018) was born in Detroit the daughter of Andrew and Agnes (Gondek) Szynal. She attended Detroit area schools beginning with St. Andrew Elementary where she was taught in Polish. Her mother and maternal relatives were fluent in Polish, so she did not have language challenges like her husband when taught in Polish. Louise later attended Munger Intermediate School and Chadsey High School in Detroit, from which she graduated in 1943.

She married Leonard E. Plachta on September 2, 1957 at St. Barbara Catholic Church, Dearborn. Together they loving raised two daughters, Laura and Linda.

Louise worked part-time while raising her family. She worked as a secretary for First Presbyterian Church, Alma, until 1978 when her family moved to Mount Pleasant, and then for CMU Parks and Recreation.

As a non-traditional student Louise earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Detroit (1970) and later took English classes at CMU (1991-1992, 2001). In additional to the papers she wrote for English classes, Louise wrote stories which were in her correspondence. She collected stories from her mother, some of which were in Polish and translated some of them into English. She wrote several papers or articles about Polish Christmas traditions and Christmas Eve (Wigilia). In the early 1970s Louise read her Polish Christmas story read aloud on NPR radio, having been introduced by Susan Samberg. She wrote a column for many years which was published by the Morning Sun, a Mount Pleasant Newspaper. Go to the Morning Sun website and search under her name to see a list of her articles. Louise also interviewed and wrote articles on local women Ruth Fortino (of Mount Pleasant Art Reach), which was printed in the Mount Pleasant Morning Sun (newspaper) and noted weaver Katherine Ux. A 2000 copy of the transcription of her interview with Ux is in the Bernice Miller Sizemore Katherine Ux Collection in the Clarke.

Very active in her community, Louise served on the boards of Woodland Hospice and Pardee Cancer Treatment Foundation. She volunteered at McClaren Central Michigan Hospital on the information desk. A member of Sacred Heart Parish, she served as a lector for over 30 years.

Louise died on February 2, 2018 and was survived by her children, grandchildren, two great-grandsons, a brother Raymond (died May 2023), a sister Catherine (Ken Russell), and other family members. (This information is from her obituary and the collection.)

Acquisition Information: