Veteran and Chalkboard Champion Wendell Earl Dunn

America cherishes its veterans, many of whom are also champions in the classroom. One such veteran was Wendell Earl Dunn, a distinguished educator, principal, and college president.

Wendell was born near Summit, South Dakota, in 1894. His father was a farmer, optometrist, and inventor. Wendell spent his boyhood on a prairie homestead. He earned a degree in transportation from the University of Wisconsin in 1916. During his college years, he played professional baseball in the Three-I League in order to help pay his way through college. He was also a gifted musician, playing the cornet and the violin in various musical ensembles. During World War I, Wendell served in the U.S. Army, during which time he attended officer candidate school.

Wendell began his career as an educator when he accepted his first job as a high school science teacher in Pierre in South Dakota. There he taught from 1918 to 1919. During that time he supplemented his income by writing speeches for state legislators. He also served as the school superintendent for Blunt, South Dakota, a position he occupied for four years. Next, Wendell became the principal of Aberdeen Senior High School in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he served for seven years. From 1924 to 1930 he was a professor of economics and American history at the Black Hills Teachers College in Spearfish, South Dakota.

In 1927, Wendell earned his master's degree in education from the University of Wisconsin, and then he moved to Baltimore in 1931. Wendell then served a long tenure in Baltimore city schools. He worked as the vice principal of Baltimore City College, the principal of Patterson Senior High, and the principal of Forest Park High School, while also serving as the president of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

This chalkboard champion passed away in 1965 after a long illness. He was 70 years old. He is buried in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.