BRYAN F. COKER became the Maryville College President on July 1, 2020, serving as only the 12th President in a history exceeding 200 years.
From 2013 to June 2020, Dr. Coker served as Vice President and Dean of Students, as well asActing President, for Goucher College in Baltimore. As Vice President and Dean, Coker provided leadership for all student affairs areas, athletics, campus dining, the equestrian program, and campus safety. He led the creation of the Center for Race, Equity, and Identity (CREI), and directed over $100 million in capital projects, including a new campus dining facility, a first-year student residential village, an athletics master plan, a new student counseling center, and the physical relocation and reuse of three 1950s residence halls. As Acting President, Coker provided transitional leadership between presidents, restructuring Goucher’s senior staff, and undertaking reviews of critical areas.
Prior to Goucher, Coker served as Dean of Students at Jacksonville University (Florida) for 10 years. He led numerous initiatives, such as the planning and development of a new student center and 500-bed residence hall, and the creation and endowment of the Student Solutions Center and Ross Movie Theater. He founded and led the Employee Advisory Council, an organization that gave staff and administrative employees a previously nascent voice in governance, and advised students in the implementation of a new student governance system, the JU Student Alliance.
Coker also previously served in administration for the University of Tennessee, being named Director of Student Judicial Affairs at the age of 25 and was the first non-attorney to hold the position. He investigated and resolved critical and sensitive cases of misconduct, including numerous high-profile matters.
While at Goucher College, Coker also served as an Affiliated Faculty Member at Morgan State University, a public HBCU in Baltimore, teaching master’s and doctoral courses in the College of Education and Urban Studies. Additionally, he was a Peer Evaluator for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and served on accreditation teams for Bard College (including Bard High School Early Colleges), Gratz College, and Skidmore College. He now serves as an accreditation evaluator for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges. Coker is a graduate of the Executive Leadership Academy which prepares higher education leaders for college and university presidencies, sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).
Coker has served on various non-profit boards, including as Co-Founder, President, and a Host Parent for Solace for the Children–Jacksonville, a humanitarian peacebuilding organization that brought children from Afghanistan to Florida for life-changing medical care. Over a three-year period, the organization brought more than 45 Afghan children to Jacksonville and provided over $10 million in charitable medical care. Coker is an ordained Elder and Liturgist in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and is a member of New Providence Presbyterian Church in Maryville.
Originally from Western North Carolina, Coker received his B.A. from Rhodes College, is a member of the College’s Hall of Fame, and was previously recognized as Rhodes’s first-ever Young Alumnus of the Year. He holds an M.Ed. from the University of South Carolina, and a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee.
Coker is married to Rhodes classmate Sara Barnette Coker, who also holds a B.A. from Rhodes, as well as her M.B.A. from the University of Tennessee. She previously worked in healthcare administration, as well as served in non-profit leadership. The Cokers have four children, including a daughter in college and three sons who attend Maryville City Schools. The Coker family resides near campus, in Maryville’s Oak Park Historic District.
Dr. Brian Coker, Maryville College President, Speaker – Noonday Rotary Club – 1 February 2023
