Archie M. Palmer was president of the University of Chattanooga from 1938 to 1942. During that time, his presidency was largely defined by the United State's involvement in World War II. As a part of these efforts, the University of Chattanooga became a participating school in the Civilian Pilot Training Course of the Civil Aeronautics Authority. In non-war related campus developments, the Palmer administration also oversaw the completion of the library building jointly used by Chattanooga, Hamilton County, and the university, known today as John Storrs Fletcher Hall. Additionally, the program of occupational orientation was introduced and the Department of Geology was added during his time at the University of Chattanooga.

Palmer was born in 1896 in Hoboken, New Jersey and graduated from Cornell University and received a master's degree from Columbia University. He left the University of Chattanooga in 1942 to become an associate director of food rationing in the Office of Price Administration, and later worked for the War Production Board and the State Department.

Later in his career, Palmer worked for the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, the Government Patents Board in the Commerce Department, the Lasdon Foundation (a pharmaceutical organization), and finally for Gale Research Centers. He died in 1985, in Washington D.C. at the age of 88.

Obituary of Archie M. Palmer, The Washington Post, 1985 March 5.

"President Decides" The University Echo. May 8, 1942, page 1. https://digital-collections.library.utc.edu/digital/collection/p16877coll9/id/3340/rec/46.

Tatum, Terrell. "A Short History of the University of Chattanooga." University Echo. February 2, 1942, page 4. https://digital-collections.library.utc.edu/digital/collection/p16877coll9/id/3323/rec/41.