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Gov. McCrory Appoints Two ASU Trustees

Governor Pat McCrory announced the following university trustee appointments this past week:

Appalachian State University Board of Trustees

Kenan Smith (Rowan County) – Smith is a managing partner of Second Creek Development in Salisbury. He is a member of the ASU Foundation Board and graduated from the school in 1984. He is involved with various community activities in the Rowan County area.

Bob Hatley (Wake County) – Hatley started at Paragon Commercial Bank in 1988 and has been President and CEO ever since, growing the company from $15 million in assets in 1999 to more than $1.2 billion today. Hatley received his BS in Business Administration from Appalachian State University. He has served on the Board of Visitors of Appalachian State University and is the chairman of the Leadership Council of the Wake Education Partnership.

Western Carolina University Board of Trustees

Grace Battle (Georgia) – Battle is the Marketing Director for Old Cashier’s Realty with offices in Cashiers, N.C. and Atlanta, Georgia. Additionally, she has experience in management of a department store including in the corporate office. Her community involvement includes Swift School for Dyslexia, Boy Scouts, and Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church.

Bryant Kinney (Mecklenburg County) – Kinney has been the Principal of Kinney Public Strategies in Charlotte for five years. In this role, he works with private, public, and non-profit groups by providing strategic external relations, public affairs and employee communication consultation. Additionally he serves as a Senior Counselor to The Hawthorn Group in Alexandria, V.A. Prior to beginning in the two roles, he worked at Duke Energy for 16 years.

UNC Asheville Board of Trustees

Wilma Sherill (Buncombe County) – A local businesswoman, Sherill served as the Director of Boards, Commissions and Personnel Appointments, and Commissioner of Motor Vehicles for the State of North Carolina under Governor James Martin. From 1994 until 2006, she served as an elected member of the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Robert Long (Buncombe County) – Robert B. Long, Jr. is a founding partner of Long, Parker, Warren, Anderson & Payne, P.A. Long received his undergraduate degree in 1963 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He continued there for law school, receiving his L.L.B. with honors in 1965, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Phi fraternity. While he was in law school, Long served as an Associate Editor of the University of North Carolina Law Review.

East Carolina University Board of Trustees

Edwin Clark (Pitt County) – Clark graduated from ECU with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and is the executive president of WilcoHess LLC, which operates convenience stores and travel plazas throughout the southeastern United States. He also serves as managing member Amicus Investments LLC, a private equity investment company, and as a member of the executive board of the ECU Education Foundation. He is an active member of the community, having served as president of the Greenville Little League and an officer in the J.H. Rose High School Athletic Boosters Club. This is a reappointment.

Kieran Shanahan (Wake County) – Shanahan is a former federal prosecutor and an experienced litigator with extensive trial court experience in federal and state courts around the country. He is also a Certified Mediator with substantial Alternative Dispute Resolution experience. As a Principal in Shanahan Law Group, he handles a wide variety of cases. His non-litigation experience is substantial and includes general business, corporate and banking advice to small and medium size companies. Shanahan also served as Governor McCrory’s Secretary of the Department of Public Safety from January through July 2013. This is a reappointment.

Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees

Fred Yates (Perquimans County) – Yates is the Mayor of the town of Winfall, N.C. Mayor Fred Yates is a former member of the ECSU Foundation Board, Board of Trustees and a Trustee Emeritus. This is a reappointment.

Jan King Robinson (Pasquotank County) – Robinson owns King Robinson and Associates, a management consulting firm opened in August 1997. She has worked with several medical companies and organizations and has held titles such as Vice President of Operations of medical centers and Interim President of Albemarle Health. She earned her JD at the University of Pennsylvania, Masters at Northwestern and Bachelors at Stanford.

Fayetteville State University Board of Trustees

Bridget Chisholm (Guilford County) – Chisholm is the President, CEO, and Founder of BWC Consulting, LLC. She founded the company in 2002 and it was formed to provide public and private sectors advice, analysis and in-residence services in the areas of strategy, finance, brand management, deal valuation, mergers, and franchising. Currently the company operates out of two locations. Clients include colleges and universities, municipalities, and developers. She has over 25 years of business experience with a variety of companies and in 2014, she was appointed to the Governor’s HUB Advisory Council.

Rajan Shamdasani (Cumberland County) – Shamdasani is the Founder of American Uniform Sales, Inc. in Fayetteville. Additionally, he is also involved in the real estate development business in the Fayetteville area as well as other parts of North Carolina and in Texas. In his free time, he is involved with various community groups such as The Fayetteville Symphony, Fayetteville Airport Commission, Chair of Center for Entrepreneurship at Fayetteville State University and Member of Dean’s Advisory Board at Fayetteville State University.

North Carolina A&T University Board of Trustees

Tim Rice (Guilford County) – Rice retired as the CEO of Cone Health at the end of 2014. He was the Cone Health CEO for 10 years and has been with the organization for more than 35 years where he started as a pharmacist. This is a reappointment.

Toby Brodie (Texas) – Brodie worked as the Superintendent for Brodie Contractors, Inc. in Raleigh until March 2015. He was responsible for managing and controlling assigned projects. He started that role in October 2001 and graduated from NC A&T in 1997.

UNC Greensboro Board of Trustees

Elizabeth Phillips (Guilford County) – Phillips has served as the executive director of the Phillips Foundation for the past two years. During her time with the foundation she has been responsible for leading her board to select large-amount, high-impact grants that “move the dial” for Greensboro and Guilford County. Phillips serves on the Excellence Foundation board for UNC Greensboro and is a member of Action Greensboro’s operating group, along with several other local and national affiliations.

Betsy Oakley (Guilford County) – Oakley is a graduate of UNC Greensboro and has participated in a wide range of community involvement in the Greensboro area. She has been active with various boards for UNCG such as the Alumni Association, Board of Human Environmental Services, search committees for school leadership, and committee for Strategic Planning. In addition, she is also involved with the Greensboro Day School, Cone Health Advisory Board, NC Aquarium Society, American Red Cross, and Duke Cancer Institute.

Winston-Salem State University Board of Trustees

Jerry Shortt (Davie County) – Shortt is the owner of Whitestone Financial in Advance, N.C. He is involved with several community groups including the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, Clemmons Villages Professional Center, AFSA Education Foundation (founding member), and a business administrator for Twin City Community Church. This is a reappointment.

Robert Clark (Forsyth County) –  Clark is the President of Leesona Corporation in Burlington and has been with the company since August 2001. Leesona has been engineering and manufacturing fiber winding and take-up equipment for more than 110 years. Additionally, Clark serves on the Winston-Salem Town Council and is active with several other community groups.