Jerry Barker has put in the days, months and years — and soon he will retire

On March 1, Barker will take permanent leave from his dual posts of Student Affairs associate vice chancellor and director of the Student Health Services Center. Barker was contemplating retirement last year, but he stayed an extra year to assist with the Health Services Center addition.

Barker said he will miss much about the University, and he looks back on his many years of work with pride and satisfaction.

As director of Student Health Services, Barker must oversee and provide leadership to 75 staff members, a task he said takes up most of his time. Additionally, Student Health plans and implements more than 400 programs a year to educate students and help keep them healthy.

Without his staff however, he said things would be much more difficult.

“I’m giving leadership and guidance to the big picture items, and I have great people working with me to help pull those off,” Barker said.

Daily problem-solving is something Barker said he will really miss about the job and he hopes to one day do part-time work with the University. Barker is stepping down from his full-time duties soon, though.

The addition, which is still under construction, will add 23,600 square feet to the already existing 42,900 square feet – an expansion of more than 50 percent.

“I’d planned on retiring last year, but then we got the approval to do the addition,” Barker said. “I kept feeling like this is just not the right time to leave. So it just sort of hit me that instead of moving into the new addition over spring break, I would just pack up and move home.”

The addition was a task Barker said he did not take lightly.

“We were told to try to prepare for N.C. State reaching an enrollment of 40,000, and I took that challenge seriously,” Barker said. “I’m real excited about it.”

There have been several challenges for Barker to overcome as he oversaw the addition project, but none were as difficult as a one-and-a-half week period more than two decades ago.

“In 1989, we had a measles outbreak — two cases. We gave 13,000 measles vaccinations over a 10-day period; we said it was the longest 10 days of our life. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” Barker said.

Despite such obstacles, Barker has remained dedicated to his job and mission.

“I really believe in the value of what we do here. Having quality medical services and quality health education is really important to a student’s success,” Barker said. “I probably believe that more than students even believe it, but I really believe in what I do.”

The sport of wrestling helped shape Barker’s life from his childhood in Danville, Va., to today.

“I love the sport; I think it’s a great sport. It meant a lot to me, it opened up a lot of doors,” Barker said.

Barker has contributed to the growth of wrestling in North Carolina. This dedication is in part why he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and received a lifetime service to wrestling award.

Barker said he looks forward to spending time with his family, traveling and having the time to leisure read in retirement. However, outdoor activities like backpacking and hiking will also remain high on his list.

“My fourth day into retirement I’m flying out with a group of students to Arizona to do four days of backpacking and four days of border immigration issues,” Barker said.

The trip to Arizona is a continuation of one of Barker’s most treasured activities: interacting with students.

“I really enjoy my student contact. There is something exciting about interacting with the youth, and the energy of the student population,” Barker said.