O'Dell, Richard F. (Richard Frederick), 1914-

Dr. Richard Frederick O'Dell received his B.A. degree from Michigan State University in 1935, M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan in 1939 and 1948, respectively. O'Dell was a professor of history and former head of the Department of History and Social Sciences. He began his career at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan in 1949 and retired in 1975. O'Dell was president of the Faculty Council in the 1960s and helped draft the constitution for the new Academic Senate in 1969. He was a staunch opponent of faculty unionization and led the opposition to the National Education Association's effort to organize the faculty in 1971. Richard O'Dell died on January 11, 2008.