Central Michigan University. Office of the President.

Harold Abel was born in New York City on July 31, 1926. He earned an A.B. in Liberal Arts (Psychology) (1949), a M.A. in Special Education (1951), and a Ph. D. in Psychology (1958), all from Syracuse University. Abel taught the mentally challenged in New York (State), 1950-1952; worked as an Assist. Instructor in Elementary Education, 1952-1954, and in Psychology, 1954-1956, at Syracuse University. He served as the Dir. of the Child Development Laboratory and as Assoc. Prof. of Psychology and Home Economics at the University of Nebraska, 1956-1964, and as the Chair of and Prof. at the Dept. of Human Development at the same university, 1963-1965. During the summer of 1964 Abel worked as a Visiting Prof. of Psychology and Education at Adelphi University. From 1965 to 1968, Abel served as Dir. of the Div. of Psycho-Educational Studies and as a Prof. of Education at the University of Oregon. Abel served as Assoc. Dean and Prof. of Educational Psychology in the College of Education at the University of Oregon, 1968-1970. From 1970 to 1975 he served as president of Castleton State College in Vermont. On Sept. 23, 1975, Abel become the eighth president of CMU. He established general educational requirements for all students and led the university through lean budget years of uncertain funding for higher education. CMU gained a reputation for outstanding financial management, success at maintaining steady enrollment during a period of national decline, and was recognized as a state leader in energy conservation and increased research opportunities for faculty. Pres. Abel resigned in 1985. He later became the president of Walden University Institute for Advanced Studies before returning to CMU as a psychology faculty member. In July 1993, Pres. Abel became the president of Graduate School of America in Minneapolis, now Capella University. Pres. Abel was active in many professional organizations. He and his wife, Iris, had two sons, Lawrence and Matthew. Harold Abel died on July 8, 2002. (Information from the collection.).