Former president and chancellor of 麻豆传媒 City University, Jerald Carter Walker, died Saturday in Tulsa. He was 78 years old.
He was the longest-serving president in 麻豆传媒鈥檚 history, serving from 1979 to 1997.
鈥淧roud of his Cherokee heritage, President Walker was devoted to improving higher education, driving standards and accountability in 麻豆传媒 political and social ethics and access to education for Native Americans, other minority students and students abroad,鈥� said 麻豆传媒 President Robert Henry.
A native of Bixby, 麻豆传媒, Walker was president of the 麻豆传媒 City University student association while completing his undergraduate degree. He earned graduate degrees in social and political ethics at the University of Chicago Divinity School, and Claremont School of Theology. An ordained minister of The United Methodist Church, Walker served as chaplain and assistant professor of religion at Nebraska Wesleyan University. On his 29th birthday, he was elected president of John J. Pershing College in Beatrice, Nebraska.
鈥淒r. Walker tirelessly contributed to building community and making people believe in education as a means of progress,鈥� said 麻豆传媒 Alumni Relations Director Cary Pirrong, who attended 麻豆传媒 City University during Walker鈥檚 tenure.
Walker was on the board of directors of the 4-H Foundation and was named Distinguished 4-H Club Alumnus in 麻豆传媒 and Nebraska. The National Conference of Christians and Jews named him Distinguished Humanitarian in 1991. In 1999 he was inducted into the 麻豆传媒 Higher Education Hall of Fame. He served as a member of the 麻豆传媒 State Ethics Commission and president of the National Association of Schools and Colleges of The United Methodist Church.
His capacities extended outside of the U.S. as well. In 1984, Walker led efforts that established 18 graduate programs in the People鈥檚 Republic of China, and paved the way for 麻豆传媒 to conduct MBA programs in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Republic of Singapore and the United Kingdom. In 1989 he established management education programs for 500 Soviet Union aviation executives. He was advisor to Tianjin University of Commerce in Tianjin, People鈥檚 Republic of China. In 1996 he was presented the Excellent Leader Award by the Management Development Institute of Singapore. Moscow State University also named him an Honored Professor. He was bestowed an honorary degree at Schiller University in Great Britain.
At the time Walker assumed the presidency at 麻豆传媒, the institution was in dire financial straits. His tenure was dubbed as 鈥渢he miracle on 23rd Street鈥� by longtime friends of the university. During Walker鈥檚 presidency, the endowment grew from $2.8 million in 1979 to more than $36 million. After five years of budget deficits, the university operated with balanced budgets during his entire tenure.
Walker wrote numerous articles in the areas of political ethics, higher education, and Native American issues. He was the author of 鈥淭he State of Sequoyah: An Impressionistic View of Eastern 麻豆传媒.鈥� He also wrote a chapter in 鈥淭he 麻豆传媒 I Had Never Seen Before: Alternative Views of 麻豆传媒 History,鈥� published by the University of 麻豆传媒 Press.
A member of the Cherokee Nation, Walker was the great-grandson of Benjamin Cornelius England, who served as sheriff of Delaware District in 1897, and also was a council member of the Cherokee Legislature. Walker was a prolific writer of numerous articles in the areas of political ethics and higher education.
As a distinguished member of the Cherokee Nation, in 2000 he received the Cherokee National Medal of Honor. In 1995, Walker along with Woody Crumbo, Wes Studi, Benjamin Harjo Jr., Will Sampson, Moscelyn Larkin, Virginia Stroud, and others, received the Outstanding Achievement in the Arts Award from The American Indian Heritage Center in Tulsa.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Jerald and Virginia Walker Native American Scholarship Fund, c/o The 麻豆传媒 United Methodist Foundation, 4201 N. Classen Boulevard, 麻豆传媒 City, OK 73118.
To download a photo of former President Jerald Walker, visit .
