Plachta
Former University President Leonard Plachta was credited for moving CMU forward when it needed it most.
Plachta also should be credited for making Central Michigan Life what it is today.
Plachta died of congestive heart failure Tuesday. He was CMU's President from 1992-2000.
One of his many accomplishments was making CM Life independent. Doing so makes our ultimate goal possible - being a watchdog over the CMU administration.
In 1999, Plachta announced the dissolution of the Board in Control of Student Media, which governed CM Life. It was made up of university faculty and administrators.
The board selected the editor in chief each year and was in charge of formulating the newspaper's policies. In short, the university controlled the newspaper. Instead of the newspaper being the watchdog, it was the Board in Control watching over the newspaper's actions to ensure it wasn't too nasty toward the administration.
But Plachta understood the importance of an independent paper, even if it meant more critical coverage of his own administration.
He implemented the current Student Media Board of Directors, made up of five professional journalists from Michigan newspapers and three students. Like the previous board, the Student Media Board also selects the editor in chief and establishes policy.
Gone is the threat that a ticked off faculty member can influence the Board in Control to put pressure on CM Life. Nor can a top-level administrator use leverage on a member of the board he or she employs.
The newspaper is able to work freely, with no threat from the university.
Current CM Lifers sometimes take our independence for granted. We don't know any different.
Plachta's death reminds us to step back and realize his importance to this award-winning newspaper.
Thanks, President Plachta, for doing what you did.
