Harold George Jeffcoat (born September 3, 1947) is the former president of

Texas Wesleyan University Texas Wesleyan University is a private Methodist university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was founded in 1890 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The main campus is located in the Polytechnic Heights neighborhood of Fort Worth. Its mascot is th ...

and

Millikin University Millikin University is a private university in Decatur, Illinois. It was founded in 1901 by prominent Decatur businessman James Millikin and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Media Decaturian The ''Decaturian'', also known as ...

and a former professional baseball player.

Early life and athletic career

Jeffcoat was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1947, the first child of professional baseball player

Hal Jeffcoat Harold Bentley Jeffcoat (September 6, 1924 – August 30, 2007) was an American professional baseball player who forged a 12-season, 918-game Major League Baseball career, first as an outfielder (1948–1953) and then as a right-handed pitcher (1 ...

and his wife Valma. Raised mainly in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, he graduated from T.R. Robinson High School where he earned All-State honors as a quarterback and punter, and All-American in baseball. Drafted in the fourth round in the major league draft by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

, he played in the minor leagues for ten years before retiring and returning to college to pursue a second career as a scholar and administrator.

Educational career

Jeffcoat graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees from the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

, and later earned a doctorate in Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

, and a law degree from the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

College of Law in the United Kingdom. Previously, he served as Vice Chancellor at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

and Assistant Vice President at

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

West Lafayette, Indiana West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister city, ...

. At the University of Missouri, Jeffcoat won grant support to create The European Union Center, an academic resource to study economic and agricultural issues in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, serving as the Center's founding Director. At Purdue University, he helped lead the Purdue: Vision 21, a campaign that raised in excess of $330 million in support of the university academic programs and student scholarships. Jeffcoat's publications and research interest focus mainly on aspects of European Union Competition Law and the philosophy of law. He served as tenured professor of law and humanities at

, as its President and CEO from 2000-2010, and as President and CEO of

from 2011 until he retired in February 2013. In 2013 he joined the firm of Benz, Whaley and Flessner as Of counsel and retired from professional life in 2015. Jeffcoat now resides in summer in

Halsnøy Halsnøya or Halsnøy is an island in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies between the Hardangerfjorden and Skånevikfjorden. The island has about 2,300 inhabitants (2008) and it is the most populated island in Kv ...

, Norway and winters in

Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffcoat, Harold George 1947 births American educators Living people University of Missouri faculty Lexington Giants players Magic Valley Cowboys players Fresno Giants players Waterbury Giants players Arizona Instructional League Giants players Amarillo Giants players Phoenix Giants players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Arkansas Travelers players