Dr. Charles Waymond Merideth, founder of NOBCChE, was born November 2, 1940 and entered Morehouse College at the age of 15.

Dr. Merideth graduated magna cum laude from Morehouse College in 1961 with a BS in chemistry and mathematics while also holding the college’s all-time batting average of .463. Dr. Merideth turned down major league baseball contracts, electing to spend the summer as a research scientist at the Lockheed Georgia Company in Atlanta. He went on to the University of California, Berkeley to receive a Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1965 and was a post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Illinois.

As a professor and college administrator, Dr. Merideth accrued numerous and varied honors and distinctions. His passion was education and assuring equal access to opportunities in science and mathematics for minority students. He served as Director of the Atlanta University Center Dual Degree Engineering Program, Provost and then Chancellor of the Atlanta University Center and retired as President of New York City College of Technology.