| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1951-12-29)December 29, 1951 Columbus, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | December 3, 2022(2022-12-03) (aged 70) Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Education | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | ||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | university president, academic administrator, researcher | ||||||||||||||
| Employer(s) | University of South Alabama University of Central Florida University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track & Field | ||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1976 | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Tony Waldrop (December 29, 1951 – December 3, 2022) was an American academic administrator, researcher, andathlete.[1][2] In 2014, he became the third president of theUniversity of South Alabama.[1][2]
Waldrop was born in Columbus, North Carolina.[3][4] In high school, he was the state champion in the half mile.[5]
Waldrop attended theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) where he was aMorehead-Cain Scholar and served on the track team.[3][1] He graduated in 1974 with a B.A. in political science as a Top FiveNCAA Student Athlete.[3]
In 1980, he received a MA in physical education from UNC, followed by a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular physiology in 1981.[3][5] He received postdoctoral training at the Harry S. Moss Heart Center at theUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.[3]
When he was a freshman member of UNC's track team, he had never run more than seven miles in one session.[5] Nevertheless, he followed the coaching staff's instruction to run ten miles in the morning and ten miles in the evening.[5] After a week, his arches collapsed and he was on crutches.[5]
Waldrop was a six-timeAtlantic Coast Conference winner and six-timeAll-American while at the University of North Carolina.[3][4] He set the world indoor record (3:55.0) in the mile in 1974.[3] He won twoNCAA championships: the indoor 1,000 yards in 1973 and the indoor mile in 1974.[3][4]
Waldrop ran the mile in 3:53.2 for a win at thePenn Relays in 1974.[4][6] He was on the cover ofTrack and Field News in both March and May 1974; the latter feature him at the Penn Relays.[7][6] He also was the first man to break the 4-minute mile in theWanamaker Mile at theMillrose Games in 1974.[8][4]
In 1975, he became the assistant track coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[6] That same year, he won the gold medal at the1975 Pan American Games inMexico City for the1500 meters.[6] He retired from track after the 1976 indoor season.[6][9]
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 [to 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…"[6]
Waldrop went to the U.S. Olympic trials in 1972—he said the pressure was so great that it wasn't fun.[6] As a result, making the Olympic team after college was "never an overwhelming goal."[6]
From 1982 to 1986, Waldrop was a research fellow at theUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.[3] He was a recipient of theNational Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellowship.[1] While at Texas, he also taught respiration andphysiology for medical and health science students.[3]
Waldrop was a professor of molecular and integrative physiology at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, teaching undergraduate, graduate, and medical students.[3] He was promoted to vice chancellor for research at Illinois.[3][4]
Waldrop became vice chancellor for research and graduate studies at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001.[3] There, he oversaw $577 million in research funding, annually.[6]
In August 2010, he became provost and executive vice president at theUniversity of Central Florida.[10] In 2014, he became the third president of theUniversity of South Alabama.[1]
Waldrop marriedJulee Briscoe of Chapel Hill, the daughter of Vic Briscoe who was aUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor of physics.[3] She also attended UNC and ran track.[3] They have two sons, Cabe and Dallas.[3]
On December 3, 2022, following a lengthy illness, Waldrop died at his home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at the age of 70.[11][12]
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