Jeff Frederick was born in southern Indiana but grew up in Florida, where he attended the University of Central Florida and met Melinda, his college sweetheart. He received an undergraduate degree in Business and spent nearly a decade in healthcare and other business pursuits. Melinda earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in psychology, becoming a psychotherapist and licensed professional counselor. Melinda has had a distinguished career in behavioral health, working in individual and group settings, serving hospice and IDD communities, and holding positions as Director of Quality Management and CEO in various companies within these fields. She and Jeff married in 1991.
Feeling a call to teaching and writing, Jeff embarked on a graduate education in history, earning a Master’s degree from the University of Central Florida and a Doctorate from Auburn University. Shortly after completing his Ph.D., he began his higher education career as an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He has taught courses in a variety of fields but specializes in the History of the South, Civil Rights, Sports, Society, and related fields, and he has published and presented on a variety of topics related to Southern history.
Over the past twenty-one years, Jeff has served in various academic roles, including assistant professor, associate professor, professor, department chair, dean, and provost, with 17 years at UNCP and the last four years at Wingate University. He is now joining the Drury University community. His extensive experience in teaching, writing, and leadership at both a regional public university and a medium-sized private institution has reinforced his belief in the transformative power of higher education. He values small classes, approachable faculty, engaged learning, caring mentors, and community collaboration. “Students that graduate with a range of intellectual and practical skills and experiences from a place like Drury that values a holistic approach to their mission,” Frederick notes, “are prepared for meaningful and fulfilling lives which enrich their families, workplaces, and communities.”
Jeff was particularly attracted to Drury University for its commitment to direct student engagement and helping students discover their sense of self in the contemporary world. He resonates with Wendell Berry’s notion of “vocation” as a calling to meaningful work for which one is uniquely suited. Jeff is dedicated to helping students find their calling, believing that this work significantly improves the present and unlocks a brighter future, one graduate at a time. He acknowledges that, in a fast-paced world, this work is now more important than ever.
Jeff and Melinda have three children: Logan (married to Grace), Jack (married to Brittany), and Quinton.