John Blackford Van Meter (September 6, 1842 – April 8, 1930) was an American Methodist minister, educator, and the co-founder of Goucher College.

In the early 1880s, the Baltimore Conference was considering the establishment of a women's college, deliberations in which Van Meter and Goucher became heavily involved.

Van Meter, who was then the dean, was asked by the board of trustees to serve as acting president while they searched for a permanent replacement.

Van Meter held the position of acting president from 1911 to 1913, during which time financial difficulties, namely persistent annual deficits and growing debt, threatened the survival of the school.

[4] Van Meter reassumed his position as dean when the administration named William Westley Guth as the college's fourth president.