Carron, Malcolm 1917–2005

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born May 15, 1917, in Detroit, MI; died of pneumonia, April 19, 2005, in Clarkston, MI. Priest, college president, activist, and author. Carron was a former president of the University of Detroit (now University of Detroit Mercy), as well as a civil rights activist and founding member of New Detroit Inc. His thorough education in philosophy, religion, and literature included a B.A. in philosophy from the University of Detroit in 1939, an M.A. in English from Loyola University, and a Ph.D. in education from the University of Michigan. As a Jesuit, he was also trained at the Milford Novitiate of the Society of Jesus and at West Baden College; Carron was ordained in 1951. In 1956, he joined the staff at the University of Detroit, where he taught education courses and became assistant dean of the college of arts and sciences. He later moved up to academic vice president, and in 1966 was named the university's president. The 1960s were a tumultuous time in Detroit, which was suffering from severe racial strife. After the 1967 riots, Carron worked to encourage better interracial relations as a founding member of New Detroit, and he also increased racial diversity on his campus through financial aid and tutoring programs for minorities. Leaving the presidency in 1978, he stayed at Mercy until 1981 as chancellor. He then was named president of the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy. In this post, one of his most important acts was keeping the high school in Detroit, rather than allowing it to relocate to the suburbs. Retiring in 1992, he returned to administrative work the next year when he was asked to be president of Detroit's Loyola High School. Carron headed this school until his final retirement in 1996. He was the author of The Contract College of Cornell University, a Cooperative Educational Enterprise (1958), and coedited two collections of essays about the philosophy of education.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Detroit Free Press, April 22, 2005.

Detroit News, April 21, 2005.