Bryan F. Coker is an American academic administrator, and the 12th president of

Maryville College Maryville College is a Private college, private liberal arts college in Maryville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1819 by Presbyterian minister Isaac L. Anderson for the purpose of furthering education and enlightenment into the West. The colleg ...

. Coker was vice president and dean of students at

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1885 as a Nonsectarian, nonsecterian Women's colleges in the United States, ...

from 2013 to 2020, where he served as acting president during the summer of 2019. Coker was the dean of students at

Jacksonville University Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Located in the city's Arlington (Jacksonville), Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonvill ...

from 2003 to 2013.

Early life and education

Coker was raised in western

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from

Rhodes College Rhodes College is a private liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South and is accredited by the Southern Associa ...

. He was a classmate of Supreme Court Justice

Amy Coney Barrett Amy Vivian Coney Barrett (born January 28, 1972) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since 2020 as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. The fifth wom ...

and they served together on the College Honor Council and as Resident Assistants. He was also a member of the Phi chapter of

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig or KSig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international Fraternities and sororities in North America, fr ...

fraternity. Coker earned a master of education in student personnel services in higher education from

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

. In August 2010, he completed a Ph.D. in higher education administration from

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

(UT). His dissertation was titled, ''The Operationalization of the Doctrine of In Loco Parentis: The Administrative Council of the University of Tennessee in the Early 1920s and 1930s''. Coker's doctoral advisor was Norma T. Mertz.

Career

Coker worked for six years at UT-Knoxville, starting in student affairs administration, and from 1999 to 2003 served as the director of student judicial affairs. From 2003 to 2013, Coker was the dean of students at

. On February 4, 2013, Coker succeeded Gail Edmonds as the vice president and dean of students of Goucher College, serving as the chief student affairs officer. Beginning in January 2017, Coker was an affiliated faculty member in the School of Education and Urban Studies at

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically bla ...

. In 2018, Coker graduated from the

Council of Independent Colleges The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association in the United States of more than 650 independent, liberal arts colleges and university, universities and more than 100 higher education affiliates and organizations. Member institutions ...

and

American Association of State Colleges and Universities The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is an organization of state-supported colleges and universities that offer degree programs leading to bachelor's, master's or doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning ...

Executive Leadership Academy. He assisted Goucher president, José Antonio Bowen with the "Undaunted" capital campaign to raise $100 million. Coker served as the acting president of Goucher in the summer of 2019. He was also a peer evaluator for the

Middle States Commission on Higher Education The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education, is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...

. On July 1, 2020, Coker succeeded Tom Bogart as the president of Maryville College. Coker serves as a member of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Presidents Council. He is leading efforts to plan and build the

Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from 1 ...

Institute for Environmental Education and the Sciences on Maryville’s campus. Tennessee Governor

Bill Lee (Tennessee politician) William Byron Lee (born October 9, 1959) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the 50th governor of Tennessee since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Lee was president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Lee Com ...

proposed a State of Tennessee budget allocation to support the Institute, in Alexander's honor.

Personal life

Coker met his wife, Sara Barnette Coker, at Rhodes College. They have four children. Sara Coker is the co-founder of a

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

-based nonprofit that brought Afghan children to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

for medical care. Coker is an ordained elder and liturgist in the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in the Religion in the United States, United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its th ...

. The Cokers reside in the Oak Park Historic District of

Maryville, Tennessee Maryville is a city in and the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee. Its population was 31,907 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The Great Indian Warpath (which was used to build the route U.S. Route 411, US-411) was long ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coker, Bryan Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Academics from North Carolina American university and college faculty deans Goucher College faculty and staff Rhodes College alumni University of South Carolina alumni University of Tennessee alumni University of Tennessee faculty Jacksonville University faculty American Presbyterians Maryville College Presidents of Goucher College 1973 births