Dr. Eddy Van Meter

Eddy J. Van Meter was born in Las Cruces, NM, on August 15, 1941, and died on December 26, 2023, in Albuquerque. He graduated from Roswell, NM High School in 1959 and shortly thereafter joined the U.S. Air Force. After basic training in Texas, he was stationed at Lowery AFB in Colorado, Kadena AFB in Okinawa, and Shaw AFB in South Carolina. He was honorably discharged from the Air Force in September,1963 with the rank of AlC.

After completing military service, Eddy from 1964 to 1968 attended the University of New Mexico, graduating with a BA in English while also obtaining a secondary teaching certificate. Then from 1968 until 1971 he attended New Mexico State University, receiving his MA and Ed.D. degrees with an emphasis in educational management and development while also working as a Research Associate at the ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools.

In August 1971 Eddy accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Educational Administration at Kansas State University. He remained there until 1982, during which time he was promoted to Associate Professor. He spent the 1979-80 academic year as Visiting Professor in the College of Education at Harvard University, conducting research and teaching a graduate seminar on educational reform. In 1982 Eddy accepted a faculty position in the Department of Educational leadership at the University of Kentucky, where he was promoted to Professor and served as Department Chair from 1987-1995. During his tenure at UK Eddy served as major advisor to more than 40 doctoral students who successfully completed and defended their Ph.D. degrees. Eddy retired from UK in December 2000.     

In January 2001 Eddy married Dr. Cindy McMinn, the love of his life, and moved to Jackson, Mississippi, until Cindy's retirement after a 25-year career of public service as a schoolteacher and school principal, and then Director of the Office of Educational leadership and Enhancement within the Mississippi Department of Education.

After Cindy’s retirement Eddy and Cindy in August 2001 disposed of a great deal of accumulated but unneeded possessions, purchased a motorhome, and headed for Arizona. They made Coolidge, AZ, their home base while roaming throughout the Southwest.

In 2002 they sold their motorhome and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where they lived for 5 years. In 2007 Eddy and Cindy sold their condo in Las Vegas and relocated to Belen, New Mexico, where they purchased a home in a gated senior community and settled down to a life of small-town living and travel. In retirement Eddy and Cindy adopted a motto of living one day at a time, celebrating cultural diversity, and lending a helping hand to others whenever possible.