JU’s Coker named vice president, dean at Goucher College

Dr. Bryan Coker has been named vice president and dean of students at Goucher College in Baltimore, Md., and will assume his duties there in early February. Coker has served as Jacksonville University’s dean of students since 2003, and has spearheaded numerous initiatives which have had a major impact upon campus life.

Goucher is a selective, private, coeducational, liberal arts college of 1,500 students, and the first college in the nation to require study abroad for all students. As vice president and dean of students, Coker will serve as Goucher’s chief student affairs officer, reporting to the president, with responsibility for all student affairs departments, as well as athletics. He was selected following a comprehensive national search, which generated a pool of over 150 qualified candidates.

Coker served as founding chair of the JU Employee Advisory Council, creating the organization which gave staff and administrative employees a voice in campus governance. He also led the development of the Davis Student Commons, providing a student life center for the campus. When the former Student Government Association was disbanded, he advised students in the creation of a new student governance system, the JU Student Alliance. Coker also played a lead role in the design and planning of Oak Hall, and more recently secured donor support for initiatives such as the new Buccaneer Room and the Student Solutions Center.

Outside of JU, Coker has made an impact in the local community. He serves as president of Solace for the Children-Jacksonville, a humanitarian non-profit organization, which brings children from Afghanistan to Jacksonville for comprehensive medical care. Since 2009, the organization has brought more than 45 Afghan children to Jacksonville, and arranged for hundreds of thousands of dollars in charitable medical care for those children. He also serves as an ordained elder and board member at South Jacksonville Presbyterian Church in San Marco, as well as a board member at the Montgomery Presbyterian Center in Starke, Fla.

Jacksonville University sincerely thanks Dr. Coker for his 10 years of service to JU and more specifically to the students. We extend our very best wishes to him and his family, as they plan for this exciting new chapter.

A reception will be held later in the month to honor Dr. Coker.