Dr. Bryan Coker

BRYAN F. COKER became President of Maryville College on July 1, 2020, serving as only the 12th President in a history exceeding 200 years. The College’s Board of Directors issued Coker a new contract in 2022, securing his presidential tenure through 2027. As President, Coker has set forth primary areas of focus for the College, including:

• Being an institution “of and for the region,” embracing the College’s opportune and scenic location as one of the world’s greatest learning laboratories;
• Embracing the liberal arts as the best preparation for both the everyday and for the unexpected; and
• Futureproofing the College, amidst the current realities of higher education.

Coker assumed office during the COVID-19 pandemic and despite the challenges, led the College to a position of continued strength and stability, with increased student enrollment and enhanced philanthropic giving. Early in his presidency, he also led efforts to retain the on-campus RT Lodge as a small, historic, and local establishment, when external legal proceedings threatened the property. The Lodge is now under local leadership and thriving, with improvements such as the Morningside Room, a spa, and corporate event facility.

Coker has demonstrated strong support for the College’s athletic programs, is currently a member of the NCAA Division III Presidents Council, and played a leading role in establishing the Collegiate Conference of the South, serving for two years as founding chair. Under his leadership, Maryville received and has accepted an invitation to join the prestigious Southern Athletic Association (“SAA”), and numerous teams have recently made historic NCAA tournament appearances. Athletic facility improvements during Coker’s tenure have included the Cole Piper Memorial Track, a new soccer pitch, and many renovations to Cooper Athletic Center.

New academic programs have been introduced under Coker’s leadership, including the first graduate program in the College’s modern history – a Master of Arts in Teaching, focused on STEM education. Other new programs include majors in Environmental Science and Hospitality and Regional Identity, as well as a Fermentation Sciences minor.

Coker led development of the Maryville College Downtown Center, which opened in Fall 2024, and serves as a place of connection between the College and local community. Located a short walk from campus, the Center is a hub for the College’s Hospitality and Regional Identity major and Fermentation Sciences minor. The Center serves students, as well as businesses and community members through external events, lifelong learning and continuing education classes, and economic development initiatives. In response to Downtown Center, the City of Maryville has rehabilitated and improved the College to downtown corridor with new sidewalks, lighting, landscaping, and crosswalks.

President Coker is currently leading the planning and fundraising for the future Alexander Institute for Conservation Leadership and the Sciences, named in honor of retired U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, who also served as 45^th Governor of Tennessee, the 5^th U.S. Secretary of Education, and past president of the University of Tennessee system. The Institute will be a 65,000 square foot, $60+ million facility, providing a new home for all natural sciences and health-related programs, with an overall focus on the health and wellness of the Southern Appalachian region. The State of Tennessee has allocated a $12 million gift for the Institute in the 2025-2026 fiscal year state budget.

Other major philanthropic gifts during Coker’s tenure have included funding for Environmental and Sustainability Initiatives, the “Scots in the Smokies” program, the Hospitality and Regional Identity major, the Greaser Alumni Center, and a new Honors Program

Prior to the Maryville presidency, Coker’s career was deeply focused on students’ experiences in higher education. He served as vice president and dean of students, as well as acting president, for Goucher College in Baltimore. Prior to Goucher, he was dean of students at Jacksonville University (Florida) for 10 years and previously served in administration for the University of Tennessee, including as director of student judicial affairs. While in Baltimore, Coker was also an affiliated faculty member at Morgan State University, teaching master’s and doctoral courses in the College of Education and Urban Studies. He currently serves as an affiliated faculty member at the University of Tennessee in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, and has been a peer evaluator for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools–Commission on Colleges as well as for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. He serves on the boards of both the Appalachian College Association and the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities, as Treasurer.

Coker has received numerous honors, including the 2024 Alumni Professional Achievement Award from the University of Tennessee. He is a member of Leadership Tennessee’s Class IX and Leadership Knoxville’s Class of 2024. He has served on various non-profit boards, including as co-founder and president of Solace for the Children–Jacksonville, a humanitarian peace-building organization that brought children from Afghanistan to Florida for life-changing medical care. He is an ordained elder and liturgist in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and a member of New Providence Presbyterian Church in Maryville.

Originally from North Carolina, Coker received his B.A. from Rhodes College, is a member of the College’s Hall of Fame, and was previously recognized as Rhodes’s first-ever Young Alumnus of the Year. He holds an M.Ed. from the University of South Carolina, and a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee. Coker is married to Rhodes College classmate Sara Barnette Coker, who also holds a B.A. from Rhodes, as well as an M.B.A. from the University of Tennessee. Ms. Coker previously worked in healthcare administration and served in non-profit leadership. The Cokers have four children, including a 2024 alumna of Maryville College. The Coker family resides near campus, in Maryville’s Oak Park Historic District.