Luther F. "Fred" Carter (born May 30,1950) is an American university president and a former senior governmental official. He is the 4th President of Francis Marion University in Florence,South Carolina. He assumed office in 1999.[1]
Carter was raised in Sanford,Florida. He completed a Bachelor of Arts in political science at the University of Central Florida in 1972 and earned a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. While at UCF he joined Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Carter spent three years as an active duty Marine officer and 26 years as an officer in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. He retired in 2001 with the rank of colonel.
Academic career
Carter completed a master's degree in Public Administration (MPA) at the University of South Carolina in 1976 and completed his Doctorate in political science there in 1979. He began his academic teaching career as an assistant professor and director of internship at Western Kentucky University from 1979 to 1980.[2]
He was an assistant professor and director of masters of public policy program,Department of Public Service Administration at the University of Central Florida from 1980 to 1981;served as the director of the Institute of Public Affairs and Policy Studies,MPA Director and associate professor of political science at the College of Charleston from 1981 to 1985;then served as the chair of the Department of Political Science at the College of Charleston from 1985 to 1987.
Carter was named president of Francis Marion University in 1999. He has authored or co-authored six books and dozens of articles and reviews in his field.[3]
Carter served as the county administrator for Bamberg County,South Carolina in 1977. Following a distinguished 10-year career in academics,Carter was selected as the senior executive assistant to South Carolina Governor Carroll Campbell,serving as a principal policy advisor on governmental finance and grants,higher education,public safety,and local government.
From 1991 to 1999,Carter served as executive director of the South Carolina Budget Control Board (now the Department of Administration),where he coordinated the activities of the 1,500 employees of the board and provided oversight to a vast array of government functions. Carter served as chief of staff to South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford in 2003,acting as the primary advisor and coordinator of the 14 gubernatorial cabinet departments during the inaugural year of Sanford's administration.[4]
Carter has presided over the construction of 13 new buildings including the award-winning FMU Performing Arts Center in downtown Florence and has guided the development of new programs in Nursing,Engineering,the Health Sciences and more. He was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa as a faculty/staff initiate in 2009. In August 2018,FMU's Board of Trustees extended Carter's contract through 2029.[5]
Civic Involvement
Carter has been appointed to numerous public and private boards,committees and task forces. Highlights include:
Winthrop College Board of Trustees (1988-1993)
Joint Legislative Study Committee on State Employee Merit Pay
S.C. General Assembly (1988-1989)
State of South Carolina Hurricane Hugo Relief Fund (1989-1990-Director)
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United States
United States Marine Corps 
Colonel