The Ronald and Edith J. Carrier Center

Ronald and Edith J. Carrier

ABOUT THE CARRIERS

The Center is named for ETSU graduates Dr. Ronald Edwin Carrier and Edith Johnson Carrier in thankful appreciation for their support of their alma mater. 

Ron, a Bluff City, Tennessee native, was a 1955 graduate of East Tennessee State University. ETSU is where he met the love of his life, Edith Marie Johnson from Kingsport, Tenn. In their senior year, Ron was elected president of the student body and Edith was elected secretary/treasurer, thus beginning their incredible lifetime together. They were selected as the most outstanding students, marking the first time two students has been selected for the annual honor. Following his college graduation with a B. S. degree in economics, Ron married Edith and moved to Illinois where they started their family and where Ron earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in economics at the University of Illinois. 

Following attainment of his advanced degrees, Ron served as associate professor of economics at the University of Mississippi from 1960 to 1963, directing research for NASA and the Chamber of Commerce. He moved to Memphis State University in 1963 as professor of economics and director of the university's research programs. He served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Memphis State University from 1966-1971

He began his presidency of Madison College in 1971, as the youngest college president in the nation. He retired from James Madison University in 1988, after 27 years of distinguished service as the university's fourth president. He served as chancellor of JMU from 1998 to 2002 when he was named president emeritus. 

In honor of Ron's and Edith's many contributions to JMU, Madison Memorial Library was renamed Carrier Library in 1984. The JMU Aboretum was named in honor of Edith J. Carrier by the James Madison University Board of Visitors to officially recognize her years of service to the university. 

The Carriers also funded the Ronald & Edith Carrier Student Government Leadership Award at ETSU in honor of their own experience in the Student Government Association as undergraduates. Recipients are announced each spring as part of the Summit Awards and receive both monetary award and a bronze medal on a blue and gold neck robbon. A listing of recipients can be found in the SGA Suite.