Richard Cater graduated from the University of North Alabama in 1967. In 2008, Finance Department Chief Legal Counsel Richard Cater was appointed a member of the University of North Alabama Board of Trustees. Cater was appointed to serve his alma mater taking the place of former trustee David Abramson. He was elected Alumni of the Year for Political Science in 2005.

A Florence, Alabama native, Cater received his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. He practiced law in Alabama and Florida before his appointment as Commissioner of Insurance during the administration of former Alabama Governor Fob James. He has also devoted time to a number of civic and social organizations, including Rotary International and the Boy Scouts of America. Cater is a member of the UNA President’s Cabinet.