Allen C. Meadors
Allen Coats Meadors was installed as the ninth president of the University of Central Arkansas on June 19, 2009. Meadors is outgoing chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, a post he has held for the past ten years. He succeeds UCA president Lu Hardin.
Meadors was born to H. B. and Allene Meadors of Van Buren, Arkansas. Meadors graduated from Van Buren High School in 1965. He was a member of the high school football, basketball, and track teams, an inductee into the National Honor Society, and a Student Council representative. He began college at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville but after one semester transferred to the University of Central Arkansas. "I thought [Fayetteville] was too big," said Meadors in a 2009 interview. "I wanted to get involved in a lot of things, and as a freshman, you're kind of limited in what you can be a part of." He graduated from UCA with a degree in business administration in 1969. While in college Meadors joined the Scroll yearbook staff, UCA Association of Christian Students, and the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He is a past president of the UCA Student Government Association.
Meadors began a master's of business administration degree program at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville upon graduation from UCA, but left after one semester upon being drafted. He enlisted in the United States Air Force, went to Officer Candidate School, and became a captain and hospital/clinic administrator with the Medical Service Corps. He exited the military on September 30, 1973. Meadors eventually received a master's of business administration from the University of Northern Colorado in 1974, a master's of public administration from the University of Kansas in 1975, a master's degree in psychology and human relations from Webster University in 1979, and a master's in health services management in 1980. Meadors earned his Ph.D. in educational administration from Southern Illinois University in 1991.
Meadors has held administrative posts in medical clinic, hospitals administrator, public health offices at Southern Illinois University, the University of Texas, the University Oklahoma, and Eastern Washington University. From 1994 to 1999 he served as CEO and dean at Penn State-Altoona.
Meadors has authored more than fifty articles and manuals. He married wife Barbara in 1981.
References
- "Banquet Scheduled," Van Buren Press Argus-Courier, April 24, 2002.
- Elizabeth Sharp, "Allen Coats Meadors," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (River Valley & Ozark edition), July 19, 2009.
- Debra Hale-Shelton, "New UCA President Signs $238,000 Contract," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 17, 2009.
- Debra Hale-Shelton, "UCA Chief Sits Down with Faculty," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, September 25, 2009.
