Malcolm Poyer Price was called to serve as the fourth president at the University of Northern Iowa; he administered the school from 1940 through 1950. His precedessor was Orval Ray Latham.
Price was born in 1895 in Carroll, Iowa. In 1918 he graduated from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, with a bachelor's degree in chemistry. Soon after graduating, Price enlisted in the army and earned the rank of second lieutenant. After he completed his service, he worked as a chemist in Chicago for two years. Later, he became a teacher of science in Harrisburg, South Dakota, and the superintendent of schools as well.
In 1927, Price earned his M.A. in educational administration, and began work on his doctoral degree. After finishing his schooling in 1929, he became the Assistant to the Deputy of Schools in Detroit, Michigan, and in 1934 he served as the Director of Personnel. He and his wife, Mary, had two children.
Construction of new buildings was restricted during the Price administration because of World War II. Latham Hall was the only instructional building erected while he was in office.
After ten years as president, Price resigned and accepted a position in the UNI Department of Psychology and Educational Foundations, where he taught until his retirement in 1963. Dr. Price died in 1975 at the age of eighty. Price Laboratory School is named in his honor because of his dedication to education and the teaching profession.
Price was succeeded by James William Maucker.
Compiled by Susan Witthoft; edited by Gerald L. Peterson
Special Collections and University Archives
January 1996