LeRoy T. Walker, chancellor emeritus of North Carolina Central University, has died at the age of 93. Dr. Walker was head track and field coach for the United States at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. He later was the first Black president of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
A native of Atlanta, Walker spent much of his youth in Harlem. He returned to the South to attend Benedict College in South Carolina. After graduation from Benedict, he earned a master’s degree at Columbia University and then took a job as the track coach at North Carolina Central. During his tenure he coached more than 100 All-Americans and several Olympic gold medalists. He later earned a Ph.D. in biomechanics from New York University.
Dr. Walker was chancellor of North Carolina Central from 1983 to 1986. Earlier he had served as chair of the department of physical education and recreation and vice chancellor for university relations. The physical education complex on the campus of North Carolina Central University is named in his honor.
