John William Bardo (October 28, 1948 – March 12, 2019) was an American educator, most recently serving as the 13th President of

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

(WSU). Previously, Bardo served as a faculty member at

Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded ...

(WCU) after serving as the 10th Chancellor for 16 years.

Biography

Education

John grew up in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

and graduated from Oak Hills High School. After high school, he attended the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

, where he graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics. After attending Cincinnati, Bardo graduated from

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...

with a Master of Arts in sociology in 1971, followed by his doctorate at the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

in 1973.

Early career

In 1976, Bardo started his career at

in the sociology department for five years, where he also won a Fulbright scholarship to study in Australia. In 1983, Bardo left Wichita State to become the Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at

Southwest Texas State University Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...

(now Texas State). After serving at Southwest Texas State for three years, Bardo served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at two different institutions – the

University of North Florida The University of North Florida (UNF) is a public research university in Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Sc ...

from 1986 to 1990 and

Bridgewater State College Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Attleboro, and Cape Cod, BSU h ...

from 1990 to 1993.

Western Carolina University

On July 1, 1995, Bardo began his 16-year tenure as the 10th Chancellor of

. During his tenure, enrollment grew almost twice the number from 1996, the campus grew with new buildings, and an honors college was established. Bardo resigned in 2011 to return to teaching. WCU named a building in his honor, the "John W Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center".

Wichita State University

In April 2012, the

Kansas Board of Regents The Kansas Board of Regents is a body consisting of nine members that governs six state universities in the U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political ...

selected Bardo as the 13th President of

. Wichita State would name a building in his honor in 2017. John started his career at WSU from 1976 to 1983.

Death

John died on March 12, 2019, in Wichita after a chronic lung condition. His final resting place is Lakeview Cemetery in Wichita.

References

External links

Biography
– Wichita State University -
Archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bardo, John 1948 births 2019 deaths Presidents of Wichita State University Chancellors of Western Carolina University Western Carolina University faculty Bridgewater State University faculty University of North Florida faculty Texas State University faculty Wichita State University faculty Ohio State University Graduate School alumni Ohio University alumni University of Cincinnati alumni Educators from Cincinnati Deaths from lung disease