Preview
Creation Date
1988
Description
The search for a new president began with Kern Alexander's resignation announcement on April 11, 1988. The Board of Regents elected Thomas Meredith as president August 5 and installed September 21, 1988. Under Meredith's leadership, the campus expanded with the purchase of the Bowling Green Center, creation the Institute of Economic Development and the implementation of the first strategic plan Western XXI. He also hired WKU's first female vice president, Barbara Burch. Meredith had served the university for a little over eight years when he announced his resignation February 5, 1997.
Thomas Carter Meredith was born in Owensboro December 7, 1941. He obtained his BS from Kentucky Wesleyan in 1963, his MS from WKU in 1966 and his PhD from the University of Mississippi in 1971. His early career was spent teaching high school in Owensboro, Kentucky and LaHarpe, Illinois. From there he moved into administrative positions in Jeffersonville, Indiana and the board of trustees of the State Institutions of Higher Learning in Mississippi. Meredith was vice chancellor for executive affairs at the University of Mississippi when he came to WKU in 1988.
Keywords
Western Kentucky University, President