Dr. Richard Meyers was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois.
As a child, he was interested in music and photography, and these passions
did not fade with age. After high school, Dr. Meyers attended DePaul University
in Chicago, graduating with a Bachelor of Music Education and a minor
in English in 1961.
Dr. Meyers moved to California, and was employed as a junior high and
high school teacher from 1962 to 1968. During this time, Dr. Meyers actively
pursued his graduate education and earned a Masters of Science in Music
Education with minors in Education Administration and English from the
University of Southern California (USC) in 1963.
He continued at USC, earning a Doctor of Philosophy in Instructional
Technology, with minors in Japanese and Psychology. He also worked for
the California Community Colleges, and was involved with the framing of
the junior college program in California. Dr. Meyers’ career eventually
led him to Japan to teach. While in Japan, Dr. Meyers met his future wife.
Dr. Meyers left a position at Pasadena City College to become the 18th
President of Western Oregon State College (WOSC) in February of 1983.
In 1986, President Meyers finished negotiating a deal to create the Oregon
Public Safety Academy on the (WOSC) campus. The Oregon Public Safety Academy
is the home of the training facility for both state troopers and local
police officers in Oregon. Additionally, President Meyers secured the
lease for the Oregon Military Academy, the first armed services training
center on a four-year degree-granting university campus in the country.
The revenue generated from the academies allowed the university to build
MacArthur Field. The new state of the art field, track, and grandstands
replaced Memorial Stadium, which burned to the ground in dramatic fashion
in 1978, and its aging and inadequate facilities.
Dr. Meyers was followed by Bill Cowart as Interim President
of WOSC in 1994.
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