Michael V. Carter

Michael Vaughn Carter
President of Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky
In office August 1, 1999 – December 31, 2020
Preceded by	Kenneth W. Winters
Succeeded by	H. Keith Spears (interim until February 1, 2022) Joseph "Joe" Hopkins[1]
Born	August 12, 1954 Place of birth missing Reared in Huntington, West Virginia Resident of Campbellsville Taylor County, Kentucky
Spouse(s)	Debra Ann Carter
Children	Eric, Alicia, and Wesley
Religion	Southern Baptist

Michael Vaughn Carter (born August 12, 1954)^[2] is a Southern Baptist educator who since August 1, 1999, was the president of Campbellsville University in Campbellsville in Taylor County in central Kentucky. On December 10, 2000, Carter announced his retirement as the CU president effective December 31.^[3]

Enrollment at CU grew from 1,600, when Carter became president, to 13,500 in 2020, when he retired from the position.^[4]

Background[edit]

Carter was reared in Huntington, West Virginia, where he graduated in 1972 from Fred M. Vinson High School and Marshall University, with both bachelor's and master's degrees in 1976 and 1979, respectively. He did graduate study at Andover-Newton Theological School in Newton Centre in eastern Massachusetts. In 1984, he received his Ph.D. from Ohio State University in the capital city of Columbus, Ohio. Prior to his CU presidency, Carter was the vice-president for academic affairs and professor of sociology at Carson-Newman University, a Baptist-affiliated institution in Jefferson City in northeastern Tennessee, at which he was first employed in 1985. In the 1982-83 academic year, Carter taught sociology and anthropology at Warner Southern College in Lake Wales in south central Florida. In 1983-84, he was a teaching associate at Ohio State. In the 1984-85 academic year, he was instructor of sociology and director of Christian ministries at Judson College in Elgin near Chicago, Illinois.^[5]

Career[edit]

He succeeded Kenneth W. Winters as CU president; Winters was subsequently elected as a Republican to the Kentucky State Senate, a post he has since vacated. At CU, Carter has presided over unparalleled growth in the private institution. Enrollment surpassed five thousand in the spring semester of 2017. CU has added schools of Barbering, Cosmetology, and Nursing, established a new gym for wrestling, and built Noe Plaza for hosting alumni and friends of the university. Under Carter, CU has built the Mary Colvin Crabtree Guest House, Tigerville Grille, a building to house the Carver School of Social Work, and the Gosser Gymnasium. There is also a Ransdell Chapel, Men’s and Women’s Village housing, the Heilman Student Complex including the Davenport Commons and Winters Dining Hall. There is also turf and lights for Finley Stadium and lighting of the tennis courts and baseball field. Work is planned or underway for a new School of Business, the Wellness Center, and improvements for the visual arts. CU now offers more than ninety programs of study including one doctorate degree, nineteen master’s degrees, six postgraduate areas, and seven pre-professional programs.^[5]

New regional sites have been opened in Liberty, Harrodsburg, Somerset, Hodgenville and Louisville, Kentucky. There are also instructional sites are in Elizabethtown and Owensboro. The newest athletic programs include: archery, bowling, bass fishing, and men’s and women’s wrestling.^[5]

In 2013, Carter obtained for CU the congressional papers of the Republican former U.S. Representative Ron Lewis of Kentucky's 2nd congressional district, which includes Campbellsville.^[6]

Carter is the author of several book chapters and journal articles focusing upon higher education, religion, life in Appalachia, and drug abuse among rural youth. Carter's wife, Debra, is an assistant professor of social work at CU. The couple has three grown children, Eric, a professor at Georgetown College in Georgetown in Scott County, Kentucky; Alicia, and Wesley Carter.^[7]

References[edit]