Back to News 
MILLIGAN, Tenn. (Oct. 4, 2023) — Milligan University President Dr. Bill Greer was inducted into the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association’s (TICUA) 2023 Hall of Fame. This accolade celebrates Greer’s 30-year tenure at Milligan and the advancement of the university’s mission under his leadership.
TICUA created the Hall of Fame to honor distinguished alumni of its 35 member institutions while highlighting their contributions to our state, nation and world. This year marks the fourth class of honorees, and the list of 24 inductees also includes Tennessee’s first female Speaker of the House, a civil rights pioneer who integrated SEC varsity basketball and a world-renowned opera singer.
Greer was recognized for this honor by Dr. Richard Phillips, chairman of Milligan’s Board of Trustees, during a recent chapel service on campus.
“As both a faculty member and administrator, President Greer has embodied Milligan’s mission of honoring God by educating men and women to be servant-leaders,” Phillips shared.
Greer graduated from Milligan in 1985 before earning his Master of Business Administration from East Tennessee State University and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville. In 1994, he returned to his alma mater as a professor of economics and business administration. He served as Milligan’s vice president for institutional advancement from 2006 until 2011 and as president since 2011.
During his presidency, Milligan has focused on the addition of new programs that meet workforce and student demand and position the university well for the future, all while remaining true to the university’s founding mission.
Greer has advanced the university’s academic mission through the addition or revision of 25 academic programs, an academic restructuring, the integration of Emmanuel Christian Seminary into Milligan’s School of Bible and Ministry, 10 successful institutional and program accreditation processes, and the renaming of Milligan College to Milligan University in 2020. Significant program additions include mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and a master’s program in physician assistant studies, among others.
Under Greer’s leadership, Milligan has achieved several years of record enrollment and maintained high academic profiles, retention and graduation rates, and underrepresented minority student enrollment. Presiding over the most ambitious fundraising campaigns in university history, he has led the institution in raising nearly $70 million for the “Forward Ever” campaign and is currently overseeing the university’s ambitious $40 million “On Mission” campaign. These campaigns have assisted with updating, expanding and enhancing the campus from 195 acres to more than 355 acres.
Greer will retire as the university’s 15th president at the end of the 2024 academic year and will serve as chancellor following his retirement. In this role, he will continue to work with the university’s leadership to maintain important external relationships and will assist the university with capital fundraising needs.
Greer is a past chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association and a past president of the Tennessee College Association. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Tennessee and the Johnson City-Jonesborough-Washington County Chamber of Commerce. He sits on the Council of Presidents for the Appalachian Athletic Association and is a past member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Council of Presidents.
For the full list of this year’s TICUA Hall of Fame inductees, visit ticua.org/page/halloffame_2023.