Dr. John H. Carter Biography
A native of Thomaston, Georgia, and the first African American graduate of the Robert E. Lee Institute, John holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies from Morris Brown College, a Master of Human Resources Management from the University of Utah, and a Master of Management from the University of Southern California. He also earned a Doctor of Business Administration Degree from California Coast University. In addition, he completed Columbia University’s School of Business Executive Program in Business Administration as part of BellSouth’s Executive Continuity Program.
John has been active in his community throughout his career. He has served on many boards over the years, including the American Red Cross, American Lung Association, Georgia Business Roundtable, National Minority Purchasing Council, and Sun City Peachtree Community Association, Inc. At his church, Cascade United Methodist, he was Chairperson of the Higher Education Scholarship Committee, which awarded over one million dollars between 2000 and 2011. In the latter half of 1992, he supported the City of Atlanta, serving as a Special Assistant to Mayor Maynard Jackson.
He also served as the initial Project Manager for the Washington D. C. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. and supervised the passage of two laws authorizing the memorial, coordinated the site and design selection, and raised over $15 million before turning the project over to Atty Harry Johnson and permanent staff.
He has received many awards and honors for his services to his corporation and community. He was named Morris Brown College Alumnus of the Year, the 1992 Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Georgia State, Southern Region, and International Brother of the Year; Who’s Who in America; Jaycees of Year; BellSouth Quality Champion of the Year and BellSouth Services’ Presidential Award of Excellence. In 2008, he was named the Strayer University Professor of the Year for the Cobb County Campus. He was awarded the Provost’s Circle designation for 2011 and 2012, which recognizes and rewards adjunct faculty who have demonstrated an exceptional and long-standing commitment to excellence in instruction. During the MLK Memorial Dedication Ceremony in 2011, he received the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Award of Merit, the highest award presented to a member of the organization.
In addition, May 13, 1999, was named in his honor in all of Alphadom. He was named a Lieutenant Colonel, Aide De Camp, and Governor’s Staff by Georgia Governor Zell Miller; received Senate Resolution 527 and House Resolution 738 from the Georgia Congress; and was privileged to have days named in his honor by the multiplicities of Fulton County, GA (11/18/92), Atlanta. GA (12/3/92), and Thomaston, GA (2/15/22).
A world traveler, Dr. Carter has climbed the Great Wall of China; visited the Sphinx and Pyramids of Egypt; stood at the throne of Peter the Great in Russia and the former jail cell of Nelson Mandela; toured the castles of Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Australia; sailed the rivers of the Rhine and Nile; navigated the Caribbean, South China, Baltic, Tasman, Red, and Mediterranean seas; and cruised the Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Pacific Oceans.
He is married to the former Susan Gibson, and they are the parents of a son, Gregory L. Carter, and a daughter, Candace McKenney. He is especially proud of their six grandchildren.