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Tony Waldrop (December 29, 1951 – December 3, 2022) was an American academic administrator, researcher, and athlete.[1][2] In 2014, he became the third president of the University of South Alabama.[1][2]

Early life

Waldrop was born in Columbus, North Carolina.[3][4] In high school, he was the state champion in the half mile.[5]

Waldrop attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) where he was a Morehead-Cain Scholar and served on the track team.[3][1] He graduated in 1974 with a B.A. in political science as a Top Five NCAA Student Athlete.[3]

In 1980, he received a MA in physical education from UNC, followed by a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular physiology in 1981.[3][5] He received postdoctoral training at the Harry S. Moss Heart Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.[3]

Track

When he was a freshman member of UNC's track team, he had never run more than seven miles in one session.[5] Nevertheless, he followed the coaching staff's instruction to run ten miles in the morning and ten miles in the evening.[5] After a week, his arches collapsed and he was on crutches.[5]

Waldrop was a six-time Atlantic Coast Conference winner and six-time All-American while at the University of North Carolina.[3][4] He set the world indoor record (3:55.0) in the mile in 1974.[3] He won two NCAA championships: the indoor 1,000 yards in 1973 and the indoor mile in 1974.[3][4]

Waldrop ran the mile in 3:53.2 for a win at the Penn Relays in 1974.[4][6] He was on the cover ofTrack and Field News in both March and May 1974; the latter feature him at the Penn Relays.[7][6] He also was the first man to break the 4-minute mile in the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games in 1974.[8][4]

In 1975, he became the assistant track coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[6] That same year, he won the gold medal at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City for the 1500 meters.[6] He retired from track after the 1976 indoor season.[6][9]

Waldrop said, "It was a really easy decision to decide to hang up the shoes and get on with the rest of my life. I never regretted the decision [to retire during the Olympic year], maybe there were one or two seconds of momentarily regret when I watched the 1500m at the Olympics... I accomplished a lot more in track than I ever imagined I would. There were a lot more things I wanted to do with my life…"[6]

Waldrop went to the U.S. Olympic trials in 1972—he said the pressure was so great that it wasn't fun.[6] As a result, making the Olympic team after college was "never an overwhelming goal."[6]

Career

From 1982 to 1986, Waldrop was a research fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.[3] He was a recipient of the National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellowship.[1] While at Texas, he also taught respiration and physiology for medical and health science students.[3]

Waldrop was a professor of molecular and integrative physiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, teaching undergraduate, graduate, and medical students.[3] He was promoted to vice chancellor for research at Illinois.[3][4]

Waldrop became vice chancellor for research and graduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001.[3] There, he oversaw $577 million in research funding, annually.[6]

In August 2010, he became provost and executive vice president at the University of Central Florida.[10] In 2014, he became the third president of the University of South Alabama.[1]

Personal life and death

Waldrop married Julee Briscoe of Chapel Hill, the daughter of Vic Briscoe who was a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor of physics.[3] She also attended UNC and ran track.[3] They have two sons, Cabe and Dallas.[3]

On December 3, 2022, following a lengthy illness, Waldrop died at his home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at the age of 70.[11][12]

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "University of South Alabama Press Release". University of South Alabama. February 6, 2014. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ a b "A new leader at USA: Waldrop accepts presidency after unanimous Board of Trustees vote".
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Tony Waldrop Returns to Carolina as Vice Chancellor". University of North Carolina Athletics. June 28, 2001. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Waldrop Leaving UNC for University of Central Florida - UNC General Alumni Association". alumni.unc.edu. May 21, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e Lear, Chris (2009-07-07). "Timeless Wisdom: Tony Waldrop". Runner's World. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Looking at a Legend: Tony Waldrop, World Record Holder in 1974, Out of the Sport in 1975". www.letsrun.com. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
  7. ^ "Past Covers 1974". www.trackandfieldnews.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  8. ^ "The Wanamaker Mile's Glorious History". PodiumRunner. 2013-02-15. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
  9. ^ "Pan American Games". www.gbrathletics.com.
  10. ^ Binette, Chad (2010-05-24). "UCF Selects Tony Waldrop as New Provost | University of Central Florida News". University of Central Florida News | UCF Today. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
  11. ^ "Dr. Tony Waldrop, former President of South Alabama, dead at 70". NBC 15 News. 2022-12-03. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  12. ^ "Former University of South Alabama President Dr. Tony Waldrop dies". FOX10 News. Gray Media Group. 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.

External sources

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