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President/Chancellor Bios

Robert H. Wright

 Biography

While Death Waited - last known speech

Obituary

Leon R. Meadows

 Information from Mary Jo Bratton's East Carolina University, the Formative Years, 1907-1982.

In the summer of 1910, Leon Renfroe Meadows joined the faculty, where he remained for thirty-four years, except for occasional leaves for military duty during World War I and doctoral studies during the twenties. Born in Alabama and reared in Louisiana, he studied at Peabody College in Tennessee, and Baylor University, in Texas, before journeying eastward to earn bachelor's and master's degrees at Yale in the field of English literature. He also earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Until 1919 when he married Lida Hill, a colleague on the music faculty, he enjoyed the distinction of being the only eligible bachelor among a faculty and student body of more than three hundred eligible females. The couple had three children, Leon, Jr., Elizabeth and Mae. Mrs. Meadows died in 1925. In 1927, Meadows remarried Frances Louise Goggin, a member of the East Carolina education faculty and critic teacher.

Beginning in 1922, Robert Wright named Leon Meadows, director of the English Department, as summer school director; Meadows also inherited Claude Wilson's duties as secretary of the faculty and secretary of the board of trustees.

Upon the death of Robert Wright in 1934, the Board of Trustees convened to approve the emergency action of the Executive Committee, they passed the following resolution:

    Resolved, pending further action by the Board of Trustees, Dr. L.R. Meadows be authorized to perform all administrative and executive duties heretofore performed by the President of the College."

On October 5, 1934, the fifty-one-year-old Meadows was chosen as president to succeed Robert H. Wright on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the opening of classes. Meadows' system of administration differed significantly from that of his predecessor. Wright had delegated authority to a number of his faculty, who were all answerable directly to him in carrying out specific responsibilities. Meadows, however, preferred to rely more heavily on the committee system, where the channel of authority was diffused.

During Leon Meadows' administration many of Robert Wright's long term goals were reached. Because of the improving New Deal economy, the state was able to gradually increase East Carolina's budget. This permitted the college to initiate the departments of Commerce, Industrial Arts, and Library Science as well as to reorganize and expand the departments of Home Economics, Music and Physical Education. The steady growth in enrollment from a depression era low of 970 in 1933 to 1,340 in 1941 provided an increase of twenty faculty positions, from sixty to eighty.

Meadows was forced to retire in 1944 after a three year investigation into the mishandling of student loan funds which led to the dismissal of several teachers.

See also a brief autobiographical sketch.

Howard J. McGinnis

Howard Justus McGinnis (1882-1971), a native of West Virginia received his early schooling in a one-room log school house near Glenville. The second of nine children, McGinnis worked as a telephone lineman, coal miner, railroad fireman and in glass factory to put himself through college. He attened the Glenville State College and the University of West Virginia where he majored in science.

After college he taught in rural and city elementary schools and at Fairmont State Teachers College and West Liberty State Teachers College in West Virginia. McGinnis obtained a Ph.D. From George Peabody College in 1927 and was hired as a psycology professor at East Carolina Teachers College. In 1928 he took the role of registrar. McGinnis was named acting president in 1944 upon Leon Meadows' retirement and served until August 1946.

Stepping down as president, Howard McGinnis organized the division of field services, a post responsible for extension work and public relations. He reamined at this post, visiting high schools and handling extension courses until his retirement in 1950. His retirement activities are documented in "No Rocking Chair Life for This Retired Educator."

Dr. McGinnis was married to Nellie Weisman and had two daughters.

Dennis H. Cooke

Dennis Cooke was born in Maiden, North Carolina, on February 23, 1904, the son of Avery and Alice (Keener) Cooke. He married Gertrude Murray in December 1925 and they had two sons, Dennis H. and Avery M. Cooke.

Cooke served the elementary school in his community as principal in 1922-23. He was principal of the high school in Aberdeen, 1925-26, and held a principalship at Masonic High School, Oxford Orphanage, 1926-28.

Dr. Cooke received the A.B. degree from Duke University in 1925, and the M.A. degree from the institution in 1928. He was a teaching fellow at Duke University in 1928-29, and a teaching fellow at Peabody College in 1929-30.

When he became president of East Carolina Teachers College, Dr. Cooke was chairman of the Department of Educational Administration at Peabody College. He joined the faculty at Peabody College as an associate professor of education after receiving his doctorate from the institution in 1930. Later he became associated with the school of administration.

Cooke assumed his duties at ECTC on August 1, 1946 and announced his resignation in May of 1947.

Statement to the Board of Trustees, May 21, 1947:

    On My 12 I submitted in writing to the Chairman of the Board my resignation as President of the College to become effective on September 1, 1947, and offered my services in helping the Board to located a suitable person to take my place. At this the first meeting of the Board since my resignation I should like to make a fuller statement. First, I should like to thank each member of the Board for his one hundred per cent cooperation and support. If you support my successor as you have me, as I am sure you will do, his administration should prove effective as I feel my administration has been.

    Entering upon my duties on August first of last year, I have given my time and energy without stint toward the solution of the College's problems. Although some of these problems will still be with us at the conclusion of my tenure of office, a great many of them have been solved. To mention but a few, thanks to the General Assembly that adjourned a few weeks ago, the College will be able to operate for the next biennium on the best financial structure of its entire history in addition to an appropriation of over two million dollars for new buildings and permanent improvements.

    Three new departments have been authorized for the opening of school in September, a Bureau of Field Services and the addition of a kindergarten and an eighth grade to the training school. Three other departments have been reorganized and greatly strengthened effective in September, music, physical education and student medical services. Graduate work has been strengthened. Student conduct and discipline have improved greatly. Due largely to the efforts of the Director of Student Affairs, an office created in March, a new and much improved constitution for the student government has been written and adopted.

    Both student and faculty morale have improved significantly since August first. It can be truthfully said that the morale among these groups and the alumni of the College is quite high. Every member of the faculty and staff has given me his or her complete cooperation and support. A definite retirement system, a salary schedule, and a system of academic ranks for the faculty have been adopted and put into effect. The athletic program has been expanded significantly.

    A competent faculty has been employed for the greatly enlarged summer school beginning next month. Only a few positions on the faculty remain to be filled for next year, all of which will be filled by September first. A large number of faculty with Ph.D. degrees have been employed for next year. Although much remains to be done, on September first I shall leave the College in much better condition in many ways than I found it on August first of last year.

    In view of the opportunity for rendering a greater service in a larger institution, I have decided to and have accepted the Headship of the Department of Education (teacher training) at the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina as of September first, 1947. [UNC-Greensboro]

President a mere 13 months, his administration was a transition period betweeen Meadows and Messick. He went on to serve as the third president of High Point University from 1947-1959.

See also Dennis H. Cooke becomes President.

John D. Messick

Tar Heel of the Week

Leo W. Jenkins

 A native of Succasunna, NJ, where his father worked for Standard Oil, Leo Jenkins once described his childhood as "tyipical Methodist." He attended Rutgers University, studying political science, Duke and NYU. He enlisted in WWII as a marine, serving during the invasion on Guam. Dr. Leo Jenkins joined the faculty of East Carolina Teachers College in 1947 and served as Dean of the school until his election to the presidency in 1960. During his presidency and subsequent chancellorship, ending with his retirement in 1978, he evolved as a leader amid the controversy surrounding East Carolina College as enrollments doubled and the school expanded and restructured its programs, achieved university status and established a medical school.

During his administration East Carolina College went through one of the most dramatic periods of growth and change in its history. The issues of this time are reflected in Jenkins' speeches and other records; including: the struggle for university status for East Carolina College, improved medical care for Eastern North Carolina, the need for a school of nursing and medical school, the strengthening of the school's athletics program and eventual acceptance into the Southern Conference.

Thomas B. Brewer

Information taken from the 1978 ECU Football Guide and East Carolina University : The Formative Years.

Dr. Thomas B. Brewer became the seventh chief administrative official in the 71 year history of East Carolina University last spring [1978] when he was named the new chancellor to succeed the retiring Dr. Leo W. Jenkins.

Brewer, 45, a native of Fort Worth, Tex., served as Vice Chancellor and Dean of Texas Christian University for the last five years. He has also held teaching and administrative posts at universities in Texas, Ohio, Iowa and Kentucky.

Brewer holds the Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in American History. He received B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Texas-Austin. As an undergraduate he participated in the liberal arts honors program and held a United Daughters of the Confederacy scholarship.

As Vice Chancellor and Dean of the University at TCU, Brewer held responsibility for all academic programs, admissions and organized research, served as chairman of the University Council, ex-officio member of the Faculty Senate and as institutional representative on the interuniversity council.

As Dean of Arts and Sciences, he chaired the college curriculum committee and served on such committees as the university council, courses of study, university-wide teacher education, effective teaching and curriculum revision.

While at the University of Toledo (1968-71) he chaired the rules committee which rewrote the Arts and Sciences constitution and advisory personnel committee bylaws. He also helped develop a curriculum for a new Ph.D. program and total curriculum for a history department at Toledo which grew from 12 to 22 faculty members during his chairmanship.

Brewer has published books, book reviews and articles for scholarly journals and periodicals and biographies. He is general editor of the Railroads of America series, a projected series of 20 to 25 volumes of history of various American railroads being published by the MacMillan Company.

During his short term at ECU he expanded the administration by adding the divisions of Student Life and Institutional Advancement and reorganized and created new academic units. Increased funding allowed the university to acquire improved computer technology as well as renovate the main buildings on campus. Perhaps the greatest achievement was the creation of the University Planning Committee.

See also East Carolina U. Gets a New Chancellor
'A Most Rare Vision' - A Conversation with Chancellor Brewer

John M. Howell

Information taken from the dedication program for the John M. and Gladys D. Howell Science Complex, October 3, 1991.

John McDade Howell and Gladys Evelyn David were born respectively in Five Points, Alabama and Jacksonville, FL.

In 1942 John entered the US Army Air Corps. He served for 3 years in the European Theater of Operations and was decorated with a Bronze Star. Following military service he enrolled at the University of Alabama, earning a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1948 and a master's degree in political science the following year.

During that same time, Gladys was a student at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She was awarded the bachelor's degree in sociology in 1947 and continued her studies, graduating in 1949 with a master's in sociology and a double minor in psychology and anthropology.

Both were enducted into Phi Beta Kappa during their student days.

Their paths converged at Randolph Macon Women's College in Lynchburg, VA where both were members of the faculty. They married in August 1952 and Gladys remained on the faculty while John went to Durham for doctoral study at Duke University. He completed the doctorate in political science in 1954, and the family went to Memphis, TN where John became an associate professor of Political Science at Memphis State University. The family grew larger with the birth of David N. Howell in April 1954 and Joseph L. Howell in July 1957.

The Howells settled in Greenville in 1957 when John joined the faculty at ECU. Gladys remained at home with the children for the coming four years until 1961 when she began teaching in University Extension. In 1963 she joined the faculty in the Department of Sociology.

John, in the meantime, taught political science and wrote extensiviely in the area of international organizational law. He was coauthor of one book, contributor to five books and collections of essays, and author of numerous articles and papers. He was promoted ot full professor in 1961.

John's administrative career at ECU spanned almost twenty years. It began in 1963 when he founded the Political Science department and became it's first chair. From there he assumed the Deanship of the College of Arts and Sciences (1966) and then the Deanship of the Graduate School (1969). He became Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in 1973 and served in that position until 1979. Returning to the classroom for a three year period (1979-1982), he assumed the position of Chancellor in 1982.

Gladys continued to teach in the Department of Sociology and was promoted to Associate Professor. When John became Chancellor she relinquished her faculty role to become the University's First Lady. She was named Professor Emeritus in 1983.

They both served until his retirement from the Chancellorship in 1987 when he was named Chancellor Emeritus.

Richard R. Eakin

Chancellor Eakin came to East Carolina from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, where he began his academic career in 1964 as a member of the mathematics faculty and became a vice president in 1983.

A native of New Castle, Pennsylvania, he earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics, summa cum laude, from Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, in 1960. At Geneva, he was class valedictorian and president of the Student Senate. He received a master's degree in mathematics from Washington State University in 1962 and a doctorate in mathematics with a minor in economics from Washington State in 1964. His graduate education was supported through National Science Foundation and National Defense Education Act fellowships.

He is married to the former Jo Ann McGeehan. They have two grown children, Matthew, who lives in Westerville, Ohio, and Maridy, an East Carolina University graduate, who lives in Raleigh.

He is active in civic and higher education organizations. He is a past president of the North Carolina Association of Colleges and Universities and is a frequent leader of accreditation teams for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. His current board memberships include the North Carolina Global TransPark Authority and the Greenville/Pitt County Chamber of Commerce.

Since becoming chancellor of East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, in 1987, Dr. Richard R. Eakin has led the university through an unparalleled period of growth and achievement.

Enrollment has climbed from 14,878 to more than 18,000 and student test scores and class rank have risen as well.

The university has achieved doctoral status and added new programs at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels. External funding for grants and contracts has grown to more than $27 million. The university's main library has passed the million-volume threshold.

Under Dr. Eakin's leadership, the university completed its first major capital campaign, which raised more than $55 million, and is conducting a $15 million drive to increase the number of merit-based scholarships available to students. Dr. Eakin also oversaw the creation of the Board of Visitors to enhance support and advocacy for the university.

The campus has been transformed with hundreds of millions of dollars of new construction projects and major renovations. Among the highlights are an expanded and renovated library, the Student Recreation Center, Todd Dining Hall, Minges Coliseum, the upper deck at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, and the Warren Life Sciences Building at the School of Medicine.

William Muse

A native of Mississippi, Muse received a BS degree in accounting from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, in 1960. He earned an MBA in 1961 and a PhD in business administration in 1966, both from the University of Arkansas.

From 1984-92, Muse served as president of the University of Akron, the third-largest university in Ohio with a total enrollment of about 30,000 students. At Akron, he provided leadership for significant gains in the enhancement of academic programs, growth in minority enrollment, expansion of private fundraising, and increased recognition of the university.

During his presidency at Auburn, Muse led initiatives to enable more students to graduate within four years, helped develop high-visibility interdisciplinary research programs, and achieved an increase to the university's endowment from $50 million to $250 million. Auburn recently completed a $201 million capital campaign. He is the president of the Southeastern Conference, in which Auburn's athletic teams compete.

Dr. Muse accepted the chancellorship of East Carolina University in February 2001 at the end of a lengthy search conducted by a special task force. His term will begin August 1, 2001.

Bill Shelton

When he joined ECU July 1 as vice chancellor for university advancement, Shelton assumed responsibility for ECU’s fund-raising, alumni affairs, communications, marketing, and athletics. Since retiring in 2000 as president of Eastern Michigan University following an 11-year tenure, he had served as a faculty member in the EMU College of Education. Earlier in his career, he served as vice president for institutional advancement at Kent State University in Ohio and as vice president for university services at Henderson State University in Arkansas.

A native of Tennessee, Shelton holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from the University of Memphis and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Mississippi. A motivational speaker and former sportscaster, he has been active in professional and civic activities. He has served on the NCAA Presidents Commission, chaired the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct in Intercollegiate Athletics, and was the 1995 president of the Mid-American Conference. He also served on the National Education Commission on Time and Learning.

Steven Ballard

 Steven Ballard, the 10th chief executive at the university succeeded interim chancellor Bill Shelton on June 1, 2004. Ballard spent his childhood in Galesburg, Ill., then attended the University of Arizona, where he graduated with distinction in 1970 with an undergraduate degree in history. As shortstop and co-captain of the UA baseball team, he played in the College World Series during his senior year.

After earning his doctorate in political science from Ohio State University in 1976, he spent the next two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oklahoma.

In 1978, Ballard was named associate director of the Science and Public Policy Program at the University of Oklahoma; nine years later he was promoted to director of the program and professor of political science. In 1989, he moved to the University of Maine as founding director of the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy, a post he held until 1998. While at Umaine, he also served as director of the University of Maine System-State Government Partnership Program from 1990-92 and as chair of the Department of Public Administration from 1991-94.

Ballard was recruited to Ohio in 1998 as vice provost for research and dean of the Graduate School at Bowling Green State University. Three years later, he was named provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at UMKC.

As UMKC's chief academic officer, Ballard has been credited with promoting a more student-centered focus and advancing health sciences education and biomedical research. In the process, he has forged university partnerships with local government and other entities that provide new opportunities for student internships and other experiential learning. Ballard's teaching and research have centered on leadership in the public sector, research and development and the innovation process, public policy, and the utilization of scientific and technical knowledge. He has authored five books and more than 100 professional articles and manuscripts on such topics as environmental regulation, the evaluation of systems for child mental health, and public reactions to strategic defense initiatives and arms control policies. Ballard and his wife, Nancy Adams Ballard, have two adult children: Nathan, an adolescent mental health worker in Bangor, Maine; and Laine, a recent graduate of Emory University in Atlanta.

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