DAVID L. MACFARLANE

President of Kansas State Teachers College
from 1945 to 1953

David L. MacFarlane was named the 10th president of Kansas State Teachers College, now Emporia State University, in 1945. Born in Scotland, MacFarlane came to America with his parents at age 5 and settled in West Warren, Mass. He received bachelor's degrees from Northwestern University, in 1916, and from Garrett Theological Institute, in 1917. He later obtained a doctoral degree from Edinburgh University in Scotland in 1931.

MacFarlane accepted a position on KSTC's history faculty in 1935 and was named Dean of Men at KSTC a year later. In 1943, he was appointed chairman of the Kansas State Board of Social Welfare. He accepted the presidency at KSTC in 1945.

During his tenure at KSTC, MacFarlane obtained the funds necessary to build William Allen White Library and residence halls. MacFarlane died in 1953 while still president of KSTC.