Tony Waldrop (December 29, 1951 – December 3, 2022) was an American academic administrator, researcher, and
athlete.
In 2014, he became the third president of the
University of South Alabama
The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...
.
Early life
Waldrop was born in Columbus, North Carolina.
In high school, he was the state champion in the half mile.
Waldrop attended the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
(UNC) where he was a
Morehead-Cain Scholar and served on the track team.
He graduated in 1974 with a B.A. in political science as a Top Five
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
Student Athlete.
In 1980, he received a MA in physical education from UNC, followed by a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular physiology in 1981.
He received postdoctoral training at the Harry S. Moss Heart Center at the
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 18,800 employees, more than 2,900 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient vi ...
.
Track
When he was a freshman member of UNC's track team, he had never run more than seven miles in one session.
Nevertheless, he followed the coaching staff's instruction to run ten miles in the morning and ten miles in the evening.
After a week, his arches collapsed and he was on crutches.
Waldrop was a six-time
Atlantic Coast Conference winner and six-time
All-American while at the University of North Carolina.
He set the world indoor record (3:55.0) in the mile in 1974.
He won two
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
championships: the indoor 1,000 yards in 1973 and the indoor mile in 1974.
Waldrop ran the mile in 3:53.2 for a win at the
Penn Relays
The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...
in 1974.
He was on the cover of''
Track and Field News
''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runni ...
'' in both March and May of 1974; the latter feature him at the Penn Relays.
He also was the first man to break the 4-minute mile in the
Wanamaker Mile The Wanamaker Mile is an indoor mile race held annually at the Millrose Games in New York City. It was named in honour of department store owner Rodman Wanamaker. The event was first held in 1926 inside Madison Square Garden, which was the venue ...
at the
Millrose Games The Millrose Games is an annual indoor athletics meet (track and field) held each February in New York City. They started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after having taken place in Madison Square Garden from 1914 to 2011 ...
in 1974.
In 1975, he became the assistant track coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
That same year, he won the gold medal at the
1975 Pan American Games
The 1975 Pan American Games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26, 1975, exactly twenty years after the second Pan American Games were held there. It was the third major sporting event held in the Mexican capital in se ...
in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
for the
1500 meters
The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athleti ...
.
He retired from track after the 1976 indoor season.
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
o 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…"
Waldrop went to the U.S. Olympic trials in 1972—he said the pressure was so great that it wasn't fun.
As a result, making the Olympic team after college was "never an overwhelming goal."
Career
From 1982 to 1986, Waldrop was a research fellow at the
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 18,800 employees, more than 2,900 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient vi ...
.
He was a recipient of the
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
Postdoctoral Fellowship.
While at Texas, he also taught respiration and
physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
for medical and health science students.
Waldrop was a professor of molecular and integrative physiology at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
, teaching undergraduate, graduate, and medical students.
He was promoted to vice chancellor for research at Illinois.
Waldrop became vice chancellor for research and graduate studies at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
in 2001.
There, he oversaw $577 million in research funding, annually.
In August 2010, he became provost and executive vice president at the
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...
. In 2014, he became the third president of the
University of South Alabama
The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...
.
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
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
professor of physics.
She also attended UNC and ran track.
They have two sons, Cabe and Dallas.
On December 3, 2022, following a lengthy illness, Waldrop died at his home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at the age of 70.
Awards and honors
*
North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame
The North Carolina Museum of History is a history museum located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. It is an affiliate through the Smithsonian Affiliations program. The museum is a part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives ...
*
ACC Athlete of the Year
The Atlantic Coast Conference Athlete of the Year award is given to the male and female athlete who show extraordinary talent throughout the entire season. The award is decided by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.
Anthony J. ...
, 1974
*
Patterson Medal The Patterson Distinguished Service Medal is awarded by the Meteorological Service of Canada
The Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC; french: Service météorologique du Canada – SMC) is a division of Environment and Climate Change Canada, wh ...
,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
References
External sources
Track and Field Statistics for Tony Waldrop
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldrop, Tony
1951 births
2022 deaths
People from Polk County, North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
North Carolina Tar Heels men's track and field athletes
Athletes (track and field) at the 1975 Pan American Games
Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States
Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)
Universiade silver medalists for the United States
Medalists at the 1973 Summer Universiade
Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games
Presidents of the University of South Alabama
Track and field athletes from North Carolina