Francis Haney

Francis Haney (formerly Herb Haney  ) is the former principal of Lakewood Elementary. He oversees everything happening in the school, whether it be school events, bad behaviour from pupils, school renovations, etc. Besides being the principal, he is very active in the community of Elwood City and often takes part in managing or competing in public events, especially if they are sponsored by the school. He leaves Elwood City in Season 20 to fulfill his dream of building a school in Tanzania in Africa, being temporarily replaced by Ms. Tingley.

In the first few seasons of the show, there was a running gag with Mr. Haney. He'd randomly appear with a toy or a balloon, or he'd have bad luck for no apparent reason. He would get hit by things such as burgers on the face or get knocked off of his bed by the Tooth Fairy; most of this was because of his simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Everybody would respond by saying, "Sorry, sir." His luck has shown to be improved in later seasons, though.

He also has a nephew and niece who appear in "The Return of the King" and who are tutored by Mr. Ratburn's former 3rd Grade teacher Mr. Pryce-Jones.

He is also a tax customer of Jane Read, the mother of one of his pupils, Arthur Read; this was revealed in "Arthur's Mystery Envelope" when he gives Arthur an envelope filled with tax documents. Arthur initially thought that it contained information regarding him, but later found out it didn't, much to his relief.

Physical appearance
Mr. Haney is a bear with light grey fur. He is often seen wearing a light blue jacket suit over a white shirt and a red and blue striped tie. He also wears dark blue pants with brown loafers and brown framed glasses. He is one of the few characters in the series depicted with fur, as opposed to a complexion like most of the characters that have human-like skin tones.

In the Arthur books, Mr. Haney is usually depicted wearing a green suit rather than a blue one. However, during Season 16 through 19 of Arthur, Mr. Haney started wearing a green suit on the show as well. In the few appearances he makes beginning with Season 20, he is back in his blue suit.

Personality
Mr. Haney is a kind character who cares deeply about the well-being of his students, but will deal a stern stance if they do anything to disrupt the day for their class or their teachers. He also can be a bit clueless, having been talked out of giving a punishment by students like Binky Barnes, though this happens only on rare occasions. He tends to be rather clumsy and becomes distracted or confused easily, requiring the assistance of Ms. Tingley. He has dyslexia.

Appearances

 * Specials
 * Arthur - It's Only Rock 'n' Roll
 * D.W. and the Beastly Birthday (mentioned)
 * Arthur and the Haunted Tree House (cameo)
 * Season 1
 * Arthur's Eyes 10101
 * Arthur and the Real Mr. Ratburn 10201
 * Arthur's Spelling Trubble 10202
 * D.W.'s Imaginary Friend (Cameo) 10401
 * Arthur Accused! 10602
 * Buster Makes the Grade 10702
 * Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe 10902
 * Arthur Writes a Story 11201
 * Arthur and the True Francine 11402
 * Arthur, World's Greatest Gleeper 11702
 * Arthur Makes the Team (Cameo) 11902
 * D.W.'s Snow Mystery (Mentioned) 12201
 * Misfortune Teller 12302
 * Arthur's Substitute Teacher Trouble 12702
 * My Club Rules 12901
 * Stolen Bike 12902
 * Season 2
 * Draw! 20102
 * Arthur's TV-Free Week 20701
 * Arthur vs. the Piano (Cameo) 20801
 * The Big Blow-Up 20802
 * Arthur's Mystery Envelope 21002
 * Fern's Slumber Party (Cameo) 21502
 * Love Notes for Muffy 21601
 * D.W. Blows the Whistle (Cameo) 21602
 * Season 3
 * And Now Let's Talk to Some Kids 30402
 * The Chips are Down 30501
 * Revenge of the Chip (Cameo) 30502
 * Binky Rules 30601
 * The Return of the King 30902
 * D.W. Tricks the Tooth Fairy 31002
 * Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival 31102
 * Season 5
 * Double Dare 50102
 * Kids are from Earth, Parents are from Pluto (Cameo) 50201
 * The Lousy Week (Cameo) 50501
 * You Are Arthur 50502
 * Season 6
 * Buster's Sweet Success 60202
 * Brother, Can You Spare a Clarinet? 60402
 * The Good Sport 60901
 * Season 7
 * April 9th 71000
 * Season 8
 * Thanks a Lot, Binky 80202
 * Bugged 80302
 * Fernkenstein's Monster (Cameo) 80401
 * Desk Wars 80701
 * Season 9
 * The Law of the Jungle Gym 90302
 * D.W. Beats All 90901
 * Season 10
 * Buster's Special Delivery 101002
 * Season 11
 * Prunella Packs It In (Cameo) 110302
 * Brain's Shocking Secret 110401
 * Dancing Fools 110602
 * Season 12
 * Do You Believe in Magic? 120902
 * Season 13
 * The Great MacGrady (Cameo) 130100
 * Kung Fool (Mentioned) 130202
 * Arthur's Number Nightmare 130301
 * MacFrensky (Cameo) 130401
 * Prunella and the Disappointing Ending 130502
 * Prunella and the Haunted Locker 130802
 * Season 14
 * The Play's the Thing 140302
 * Season 15
 * Fifteen 150100
 * Buster the Lounge Lizard 150402
 * What's in a Name? 150702
 * Season 16
 * Get Smart 160401
 * Season 17
 * Crime and Consequences 170802
 * Season 19
 * Brain Sees Stars (final speaking appearance) 190102
 * Maria Speaks (Cameo) 190601
 * The Last Day 191000
 * Season 20
 * The Hallway Minotaur 200701
 * Season 21
 * Muffy Misses Out 210401 (Cameo)

Trivia

 * Mr. Haney is seen walking past the library with a dog on a leash pulling him in "D.W.'s Imaginary Friend".
 * In "The Boy with His Head in the Clouds", he is revealed to have dyslexia.
 * In the early books before the cartoon, Mr. Haney was known simply as "The Principal", and he wasn't given a name until the book Arthur Meets the President and the cartoon show.
 * Mr. Haney is only ever referred to as "Sir" by his students in "Arthur vs. the Piano".
 * As revealed in "D.W. Tricks the Tooth Fairy", Mr. Haney is single.
 * In the early season of Arthur, certain items are shown that look like him. In "Arthur's Birthday" we see a piñata that looks like Mr. Haney. In "Arthur Bounces Back", when he presses a button on a toy robot, it changes into Mr. Haney.
 * According to weta-learning media, Marc Brown tells the viewers at home that Arthur's principal, Mr. Haney was his principal at Lakewood Elementary. That's who he is based on.
 * Mr. Haney is revealed to be one of Mrs. Read's customers in Arthur's Mystery Envelope.
 * Mr. Haney's first name was Herbert before season 11.
 * After Mr. Haney's voice actor passed away in 2014, Mr. Haney was effectively written out of the show by having his character travel to Africa in Season 20, with Ms. Tingley assuming the role of the school principal on a temporary basis. Contrary to this, Mr. Haney had a brief cameo at Lakewood in the Season 21 episode "Muffy Misses Out". He was also a guest at the Halloween party in the Arthur and the Haunted Treehouse. He did not speak in either instance.
 * In the earlier seasons, Mr. Haney has been seen landing in unfortunate events including when he gets hurt in Arthur vs the Piano and when burgers fall from the sky onto his face in Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe.
 * In the episode Arthur Writes A Story it is revealed that Francis Haney's mother wanted him to originally become a tree surgeon but he decided to become a principal instead.