2006.09.22: September 22, 2006: Headlines: Staff: Awards: Sports: The State: New sports complex at Benedict College will bear the name of LeRoy T. Walker ,successful athlete, coach, leader, and former Director of the Peace Corps in Africa

Peace Corps Online: Peace Corps News: Library: Peace Corps: Staff: Peace Corps Staff: Newest Stories: 2006.09.22: September 22, 2006: Headlines: Staff: Awards: Sports: The State: New sports complex at Benedict College will bear the name of LeRoy T. Walker ,successful athlete, coach, leader, and former Director of the Peace Corps in Africa

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New sports complex at Benedict College will bear the name of LeRoy T. Walker ,successful athlete, coach, leader, and former Director of the Peace Corps in Africa

New sports complex at Benedict College will bear the name of LeRoy T. Walker ,successful athlete, coach, leader, and former Director of the Peace Corps in Africa

Along the way, Walker has served as the first black coach of a U.S. Olympic team (1976), as president of the U.S. Olympic Committee (1996), and as director of the Peace Corps for Africa. He is president emeritus of the U.S. Olympic Committee and a member of the International Olympic Committee.

New sports complex at Benedict College will bear the name of LeRoy T. Walker ,successful athlete, coach, leader, and former Director of the Peace Corps in Africa

College honors top alumnus

New sports complex will bear the name of successful athlete, coach, leader

By JEFF WILKINSON
jwilkinson@thestate.com

Caption: Benedict’s athletics complex will be named after LeRoy Walker, president emeritus of the U.S. Olympic Committee, who now lives in Durham, N.C. Photo: AP

Benedict’s athletics complex will be named after LeRoy Walker, president emeritus of the U.S. Olympic Committee, who now lives in Durham, N.C.

All-American. President of the U.S. Olympic Committee. Director of the Peace Corps in Africa. Chancellor of N.C. Central University.

Of all these titles, there is one LeRoy T. Walker likes best.

Coach.

So it’s fitting that his alma mater, Benedict College, where he still serves on the board of trustees, would name their new athletic complex after him: the LeRoy T. Walker Health and Wellness Center.

“It’s an honor,” Walker said from his Durham, N.C., home. “Really, it all started at Benedict.”

From 1937 to 1940, Walker, 88, played three sports. He also was named an All-American and graduated as the college’s valedictorian.

He used his Benedict experience as a springboard to go on to Columbia University. He then earned a doctorate degree in biomechanics and exercise physiology from New York University.

Since then, the Atlanta native has embarked on a remarkable coaching career, mostly in track and field.

In nearly 67 years, Walker has:

• Coached 111 All-Americans, 40 national champions and 12 Olympians

• Led Olympic teams from six countries: the United States, Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, Ethiopia and Trinidad and Tobago

• Coached up to three sports at a time at N.C. Central before becoming the university’s chancellor

• Authored books on athletics, the body and performance. Athletes from novice to professional to this day still seek his advice.

“It has been a labor of love,” Walker said. “The enjoyment is watching young people improve.”

Along the way, Walker has served as the first black coach of a U.S. Olympic team (1976), as president of the U.S. Olympic Committee (1996), and as director of the Peace Corps for Africa.

He is president emeritus of the U.S. Olympic Committee and a member of the International Olympic Committee.

“Dr. Walker has made his mark not just in South Carolina, but in the world,” said Barbara Moore, Benedict’s vice president for institutional advancement.

Walker, however, takes it all in stride.

• The prejudice he endured as a young man: “You can scream and yell, but there are fair-minded people who will recognize talent.”

• His accomplishments as an athlete: “We defeated S.C. State. I thoroughly enjoyed that.”

• His accomplishments as leader: “I was first this and that. But there is no use yelling about it. You just do your best.”

The athletic complex at Benedict will be the second facility to bear his name. The other, the LeRoy T. Walker Physical Education and Recreation Complex, is at N.C. Central.

But he admits this is special.

“It’s not just a building. It’s a whole complex that will benefit the community. It’s pretty unique.

“And it is indeed an honor.”





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Story Source: The State

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