Today we received the sad news that Dr. Robert E. Glennen, Emporia State’s 13th president, has died. President Glennen led our university from 1985 to 1997.
President Glennen took the helm of ESU at a time when the university bore the marks of years of declining state support. He faced a $1.1 million budget cut, declining enrollments, and even the threatened closing of the institution. He adopted Daring to Excel as his administration's theme and challenged the university to succeed in academics, advising, extracurricular activities, and athletics in spite of its current condition.
Twelve years later, the university was financially sound and enjoying a national reputation as a leader in teacher education reform and student retention and as an innovative marketer through its regional distance program in the School of Library and Information Management.
During his tenure as president, Dr. Glennen was instrumental in the founding of the National Teachers Hall of Fame. He has been recognized nationally for his teacher education reform efforts. He was one of six finalists for the AASCU 1992 Presidential Award for Support of Teacher Education. In 1989, he received the National Academic Advising Association's Award of Excellence for contributions to the field of academic advising over a 20-year period. Personally, he has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Portland, the Outstanding Faculty Award at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of Notre Dame Man of the Year. He was named a 1994 Kansas master teacher and was the 1994 recipient of the Mike Harder Public Administrator of the Year Award by the Kansas Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration.
A memorial service is planned for Monday in Las Vegas. President Glennen’s family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Dr. Robert and Mary Glennen Scholarship at Emporia State and the baseball program at the University of Portland, where President Glennen was a student-athlete.
Cards for the family may be sent to his wife, Mary Glennen, 2620 Lake Sahara Drive No. 152, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89117.
Finally, Emporia State flags across campus will be lowered beginning Friday through Monday, the day of the funeral.