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March 18, 2005

Davenport, Mitchell Appointed to NC State Board of Trustees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

At its meeting in Chapel Hill today, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors approved the following reappointments and new appointments to the Board of Trustees of North Carolina State University.

Appointed to a first, four-year term:

• S. Lawrence Davenport, of Pactolus, N.C., earned his bachelor’s degree in agronomy from NC State in 1965. He is president of J.P. Davenport and Son, Inc., a family-owned agribusiness that includes crop and seed production, a farm supply store, and fertilizer sales. He is also part owner and secretary-treasurer of Pitt Martin Fertilizer Company and Roanoke-Tar Cotton, Inc. Davenport is active in the agriculture industry in North Carolina. He has served as president of the N.C. Crop Improvement Association and the N.C. Foundation Seed Producers, as director of the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina, and as a member of the U.S. Advisory Commission for Tobacco Inspection. In addition to his involvement with those organizations, he is a member of the board of directors and former board chair of Golden Leaf, Inc., the non-profit foundation set up by the state legislature to invest and disburse half the funds given to North Carolina from the national tobacco settlement. Davenport is also a founding member of the NC State Board of Visitors, a recipient of NC State’s Watauga Medal, and a member of the Chancellor’s Circle.
• Burley B. Mitchell Jr., of Raleigh, N.C., received his bachelor’s degree in political science from NC State and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also holds an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from NC State and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Campbell University. He is former chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court and is currently a partner at Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge, and Rice. Mitchell has also served as a member of the Governor’s Crime Commission since 1977, chaired the Governor’s Advisory Board on Prisons and Punishment and served as associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1982 to 1995. Mitchell currently serves as president of NC State’s Alumni Association Board of Directors and was named Outstanding Alumnus for 1990.

Reappointed to a second, four-year term:

• Derick Close of Charlotte, N.C., received his Bachelor of Science degree in textile management from NC State in 1982. He later earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Close is president of the Creative Products Group for Springs Industries of Rock Hill, S.C. He is an active supporter of the College of Textiles through his membership in the North Carolina Textile Foundation, which supports education and research at the college. Close has also served as a member of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors and on the S.E. Huffman Corporation Board.
• Suzanne Gordon of Cary, N.C., received both her Bachelor of Science in computer science and mathematics and her Master of Science in statistics from NC State. She is the chief information officer and vice president of information technology at SAS in Cary. Gordon was named a ComputerWorld Premier 100 IT leader in 2003. She has also served as the director of national technical consulting and acting vice president within the SAS Professional Services Division, where she directed the consulting, strategic support and partnering activities of nearly 300 employees. She has served on NC State’s Alumni Association Board and on the College of Management Advisory Board. She is also a frequent speaker and mentor to women pursuing technical careers, and is active in a medical ministry that provides services to low-income individuals.

The terms for Board of Trustees Chair Peaches Blank and member Richard Robb will expire on June 30, 2005, and they are not eligible for reappointment.

Chancellor James L. Oblinger said of the appointments, “We thank Peaches Blank and Dick Robb for their service to the board. The NC State community joins me in congratulating our new and returning members of the Board of Trustees. We look forward to working together to advance NC State as one of the nation’s best universities.”

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