Board Elects Officers

The Board of Trustees on Monday elected S. Lawrence Davenport as chair, Cassius S. Williams as first vice chair, Barbara H. Mulkey as second vice chair and Steve F. Warren as secretary.

The board is comprised of 13 members – eight elected by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors; four appointed by the governor; and one ex officio member, student body president Jim Ceresnak, a political science major.

The new slate of officers:

• S. Lawrence Davenport, of Pactolus, N.C., is president of J.P. Davenport and Son, Inc. He received his bachelor’s degree in agronomy from NC State in 1965.

• Cassius S. Williams, of Greenville, N.C., is an agent of State Farm Insurance Companies. He received his bachelor’s degree in animal science from NC State in 1969.

• Barbara H. Mulkey, of Raleigh, N.C., is chairman and founder of Mulkey Engineers & Consultants. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from NC State.

• Steve Warren of Greensboro, N.C., is managing partner of the Gateway Management Group. He received his bachelor’s degree in textile technology from NC State in 1968 and his MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1973.

In its first action, the board appointed an ad hoc committee to review university policies and procedures in the aftermath of the resignation of Chancellor James Oblinger, who stepped down June 8. He was replaced by Dr. Jim Woodward, who is serving as chancellor on an interim basis.

“This is not an attempt to find fault or blame anyone but simply a chance to discuss and advise Chancellor Woodward on our policies and procedures in an effort to pinpoint where they failed,” said Davenport.

The committee is chaired by Williams and includes trustees Gayle Lanier, James Owens, Ben Jenkins and Norris Tolson.