Converse President Dies After Less Than 3 Weeks in Job

Converse University president Jeffrey H. Barker died Wednesday in a fatal bicycle crash in Spartanburg, S.C. He had been serving as president since July 6.

Previously, he had been provost, and he planned to retire. But he agreed to serve as president for a year while a search was conducted to replace Krista Newkirk, who became president of the University of Redlands.

Barker worked at Converse for 20 years.