Principal Rooney is a fictional character from the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. He serves as the strict and often comical principal of Shermer High School, where he is determined to catch students skipping school. His character embodies the challenges of authority figures in a high school setting. Throughout the film, Principal Rooney is portrayed as somewhat out of touch and overly focused on maintaining discipline. His interactions with Ferris Bueller and other students highlight the generational gap and the humorous lengths he goes to in order to uphold school rules.