Thomas E. Corts (1941–2009) was an American university president. He served as President of

Wingate College Wingate University is a Private university, private Baptist university with campuses in Wingate, North Carolina, Wingate, Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte, and Hendersonville, North Carolina, Hendersonville, North Carolina. It is affiliated wi ...

in North Carolina from 1974 to 1983, and the 17th President of

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

in Birmingham, Alabama from 1983 to 2006.Samford slideshow
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Biography

Thomas E. Corts was born in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

in 1941. to Charles and Hazel Corts. He grew up in Ashtabula, Ohio. He graduated from Georgetown College in Kentucky, and received an M.A. and a PhD from Indiana University. Under the guidance of his mentor

Robert Lee Mills Robert Lee Mills (November 13, 1916 – January 16, 2006) was an American educator who was the longest-serving president of Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky. Dr. Mills served for 19 years, from 1959 to 1978, as president of Geor ...

, then President of Georgetown, he served as Executive Vice President there. From 1974 to 1983 he was President of Wingate College (now Wingate University.) From 1983 to 2006, he served as President of Samford University. He served as the President of the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...

, the American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities, the National Fellowship of Baptist Educators, the Association of Southern Baptist Colleges and Schools, and Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform. He is a member of the

Alabama Academy of Honor The Alabama Academy of Honor recognizes one hundred living Alabamians for outstanding accomplishments and services to Alabama and the United States. . By act of the Alabama Legislature, only one hundred living people may be members at any time. Up t ...

. After retiring from Samford, he served in 2006 and 2007 as interim chancellor of Alabama's two-year college system. In 2007 he was named by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

coordinator of The President's Initiative to Expand Education and then as Coordinator of Basic Education in the Office of the Director of Foreign Assistance,

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

. He died in 2009.NAICU funeral announcement

References

1941 births 2009 deaths People from Terre Haute, Indiana Baptists from Indiana Indiana University alumni Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Georgetown College (Kentucky) alumni Samford University people People from Ashtabula, Ohio Baptists from Alabama Baptists from North Carolina 20th-century Baptists 20th-century American academics {{US-academic-administrator-1940s-stub