Charles H. Polk

A native of Texas, Dr. Charles H. Polk is co-author of the books APEX THINKING and What Leaders Believe. He was named executive dean of Florida Junior College shortly after completing his doctorate. In 1974, he became the youngest college president in the country when he was named president of Daytona Beach Community College, where over the next 16 years he presided over enormous growth in enrollment, facilities, budget, and fundraising. He came to what was then Beckley College in 1990. In his two decades as president, he has steered the school from a struggling junior college to a thriving university with six campuses, serving more than 9,000 students a year with programs ranging up to the doctorate. He has served the United Way of America at the national level, and is a past president of West Virginia Independent Colleges and Universities, Inc. He is also an accomplished gospel singer who has recorded several CDs.