Meredith Herald
Volume XVII, Issue 3
Educating Women to Excel
September 6, 2000
On the
inside:
□ Meredith
students needed
to help one
another.
Page 2
□ America
Reads encour-^
ages literacy.
Page 3
□ SGA mem
bers are here to
serve.
Page 4
n The Cell yfiW
provide a break
from home
work.
Page 8
Meredith Herald
at
Meredith College
3800 Hillsborough St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 760-2824
FAX (919) 760-2869
maxweIU@meredith.edru
Search begins for Meredith’s VP
n Taylor’s
replacement will be
named in October.
Betsy Rhame
staff Wrriter
The search for a new vice
president of business and
finance is well underway. The
position became vacant this
summer when Charles Taylor
left the position he held for 17
years.
Taylor accepted a job at
Wingat^ University in
Wingate. N.C. as the executive
vice president and chief finan
cial officer.
Taylor accepted the position
as vice president for business
and finance at Meredith in
1983. He was named executive
vice president of the college in
1996, taking on additional
responsibilities.
While former president John
E. Weems took a sabbatical
leave during the 1998-9 acade
mic year, Taylor served as the
college’s “virtual president”
until Dr. Maureen Hanford’s
arrival in July 1999.
"He loves Meredith with all
of his heart,” Erin Taylor, ‘03.
said. She is Taylor’s youngest
daughter.
Two other Taylors, Erin’s
older sisters, are Meredith
graduates: Anna, ‘99, and
Blythe. ‘94.
Dr. Rosalind Reichard is
serving as the chair of the
search committee for the
vacant position. The committee
recently conducted interviews
off-campus for potential
employees.
“We have narrowed the pool
down to the top six,” Reichard
said.
"We expect to narrow it
down to three and bring them
to campus in September." she
added.
Until then. Bill Wade from
the accounting office
is serving as the
interim vice presi
dent for business and
finance.
Wade, whose job
used to be controller
and personnel man
ager, now does his
old job along with
new duties of the
vice president for
business and finance.
He took over Tay
lor’s position on July
1.
Wade said that
now, he is trying to
“maintain the
things that were
already in process so nothing
fails through the cracks during
this interim period.”
Reichard said that the new
employee will not perform
exactly the same duties as Tay
lor did.
The new position will no
Former Vice President Charles Taylor.
Photo bv Steve Wilson
longer be for an executive vice
president.
Participation in strategic
planning will Mso no longer be
the responsibility of the new
vice president for business and
finance.
The committee expects to
make a decision by Oct. 1.
Permanent police chief is Strickland
Q Strickland is no
stranger to life at
Meredith.
Jenny Costa
News Editor
A new president, a new
Honors Program Director, a
new Director of Residence
life, a new assistant for Stu
dent Activities... a new Chief
of Police—not exactly.
Chief Franklin E. Strickland
of Oxford, NC was officially
named Meredith College’s
Police Chief in late August.
But Strickland is no stranger
to Meredith.
He served as both the third-
shift supervisor and first-shift
operations officer here at
Meredith between August 1997
and March 1999 after which he
decided to retire.
When former Chief Mike
Frank Strickland recently was
at Meredith.
named the official police chief
Photo by Abby S?ences
Hoke announced that he was
leaving Meredith to teach mid
dle school in Vance County in
November 1999, Chuck Taylor,
then executive vice president,
knew just who to call.
Taylor called Strickland out
of retirement to serve as inter
im chief until the search offi
cially began because of Strick
land's experience on the cam-
pus-
Strickland said that retire
ment was not for him. “I enjoy
v/orking; it’s like a hobby to
me."
There were several qualified
candidates for the position, and
four, including Strickland,
were interviewed.
Dr. Jean Jackson, vice presi
dent for Student Development;
Bill Wade, interim vice presi
dent for business and finance;
and Ruth Pierce, director of
Health Services were on the
search committee for the posi
tion.
Pierce and Wade both said
Strickland’s experience at
Meredith made him most
qualified.
But being familiar with
Meredith was not the only
qualification Strickland had.
He is a distinguished war
hero. While in the Army serv
ing in Vietnam as a helicopter
pilot for 2 years, he carried out
1500 combat missions.
He received several combat
awards including the Distin
guished Flying Cross for Hero
ism, the Bronze Star Medal, an
Air Medal with 29 oak leaf
clusters, the Meritory Service
Award and the Vietnamese
Cross of Galantry as well as
numerous others.
When he returned from Viet
nam he began pursuing his
childhood dream of becoming
a policeman.
He worked for the Durham
Police until 1992 where he
retired as the commander of the
Police Academy.
He then became the director
of the Criminal Justice School
Please see
STRICKLAND
page five