Charles Teamer (Courtesy of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity)
Charles Carl Teamer, Sr., was born to B.T. Teamer and Mary Teamer on May 20, 1933, in Shelby, North Carolina. In 1954, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business from HBCU Clark College, now Clark Atlanta University, in Atlanta, Georgia. During his time at Clark, he was initiated into the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Two years later, in 1956, he joined the United States Army and was honorably discharged in 1958.
Teamer earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
In 1954, Teamer worked as the business manager’s assistant at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, where he remained until 1958. He then served as the assistant business manager at Tennessee State University in Nashville for the next four years. From 1962 to 1965, he held the business manager position at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas. Between 1964 and 1968, he was the Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Dillard University in New Orleans.
Dr. Charles Teamer’s leadership extended to various boards, including the Ford Foundation, the National Association of Colleges and University Business Officers, and the Urban League of Greater New Orleans. In 1974, Teamer was inducted into Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, also known as The Boulé. He served as its Grand Sire Archon (International Chairman) from 2004 to 2006 during which he led various initiatives and projects aimed at promoting education and community service. Teamer had earlier served as the national president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. from 1985 to 1988.
Teamer is recognized as a prominent education and community service leader and a successful entrepreneur. In 1990, he showcased his business skills by purchasing the struggling Dryades Homestead Bank New Orleans where he serves as chairman. Under his leadership, the bank’s assets have grown to over $100 million. Additionally, in 1998, he and a group of investors opened The Cotton Exchange and the Holiday Inn Express Hotel in downtown New Orleans.
Dr. Teamer retired from Dillard University in 1997. In 2003, he became president of the World Trade Center of New Orleans. He also served as the executive director of the Amistad Research Center, where he managed archival projects related to Black history and the African Diaspora, as well as activities concerning the Modern Civil Rights Movement.
Dr. Charles Carl Teamer, Sr. and his deceased wife, Mary Alice Dixon Teamer, originally from Hartsville, South Carolina, reared three children: Charles C. Teamer, Jr., Roderic F. Teamer, Sr., and Attorney Cheryl Renee Teamer. He and his current wife, Linda Phoenix Teamer, reside in New Orleans, Louisiana.
