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18 | BCALA NEWS | Volume 45, Issue 1 “It is a well-deserved honor because
of his hard work, his dedication to the college,” said long-time colleague Barbara Jones.
“Knowing that Billy’s name will be a feature of learning resources center on the campus here at Meridian Community College, a place where Billy contributed so much for so long, is a fitting tribute to who
he was and what he did,” said Dr. Marie Smith Davidson, Beal’s godmother and the retired chief of staff, president, of the University of Maryland College Park.
Davidson added, “I think Billy C. Beal, during his many years at MCC, helped to make this institution
an academic institution built on individualism, creativity and dignity and I know that Billy’s family is pleased that MCC agrees with that assessment.”
Beal mentees, including Joshua Maeda, Thomas Parker II, Cedric Ruffin and Anthony Winston, shared their memories of Beal, often echoing the comments that Beal was an encourager, a teacher
and a friend. “He taught even when he wasn’t in the library ... in the community ... he was going to drop that nugget. In our hearts, he will always be here,” Parker said.
Winston added, “Billy had a way of saying, ‘I will show you, but I will not do this for you.’ Winston said in making a major life decision, he would run it by Beal for his opinion. “Billy served as my mirror.”
MCC president Dr. Scott Elliott, said, “It was my pleasure to work with Billy for 15 years at MCC before his passing. In all my years in higher education, I can honestly say that Billy was one of the most consummate professionals with whom I ever had the pleasure to work. He was widely respect by his colleagues across the state because he knew his discipline inside and out and exhibited impeccable integrity. It is both fitting and proper that Billy’s name forever and formally be associated with this facility.”
A native of Meridian, Beal earned an A.B. from Loyola University
of Chicago and an M.S. in library science from Simmons College
in Boston. After his academic studies at Simmons, he returned
to Meridian where he became circulation librarian at MCC. During his tenure at the college,
he served as Self Study Title III director, acquisitions librarian, ACH/HEMI coordinator, computer assisted instruction supervisor and head librarian, as well as chairman of the Student Appeals Committee.
In September 2014, Beal was promoted to the position of associate vice president for learning resources at MCC. He had served as the dean of the College’s Learning Resources from 1992 until he
was named to the associate vice president post.
Also at MCC, Beal was the recipient of the John Johnson, Lamplighter and MCCer of the Month awards
as well as installed into the Talon Club, which salutes MCC employees who have served the college for more than 30 years.
An active member of the American Library Association and BCALA, Beal served in leadership roles and on committees focused
on community colleges, social responsibility, governance
and scholarships. All images accompanying this story are courtesy of Meridian Community College.