Monday, August 29, 2011

The University of North Carolina Wilmington's Board of Trustees elected new officers for the 2011-12 academic year and announced three new members of the board last week.

New officers are George Teague of Raleigh, chair, Linda Pearce of Wilmington, vice chair, and Wendy Murphy of Wallace, secretary. All three have served on the board since 2005.

Teague, whose second term on the board ends in 2013, is a Raleigh lawyer with the firm Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough. He received his bachelor's degree from UNC Chapel Hill and his law degree from Vanderbilt University. Pearce, who is also serving a second term ending in 2013, is CEO of Elderhaus/PACE in Wilmington. She earned a bachelor's degree in English/Spanish from North Carolina College in Durham and her master's degree in adult education/gerontology from the University of the District of Columbia. She recently served on UNCW's Chancellor Search Committee. Murphy has served as chair of the Board of Trustees and recently chaired the Chancellor Search Committee. A 1993 UNCW graduate in elementary education, she is an active community volunteer.

Carlton Fisher of Wilmington, Kimberly Hayden of Raleigh and Ronald "Ronnie" McNeill of Whiteville were sworn in Thursday, Aug. 25 as new members of the Board of Trustees.

Fisher, 50, a 1983 UNCW graduate, is owner/manager of Coastal Realty, a commercial real estate firm in Wilmington. The son of Wilmington College alumni Herbert and Sylvia Fisher, he has been actively involved with UNCW for many years. He is a former chair of the UNCW Foundation Board and served as emcee for the Campaign for UNCW: Soaring to Greatness launch celebration in Feb. 2011.

Hayden, 30, a 2003 UNCW graduate, is owner/manager of Hayden Rentals and senior associate with Hayden, Blanton & Associates, a political campaign fundraising firm based in Raleigh. She was director of staff and logistics for Gov. Bev Perdue's gubernatorial campaign and worked for Perdue in several capacities during her tenure as lieutenant governor and governor. She recently founded the Hayden Urban Farm Foundation.

McNeill, 60, is director and chief operating officer of Liberty Healthcare Services. In Feb. 2011, McNeill, his brother John "Sandy" McNeill and their spouses gave the largest gift in UNCW's history to support programs in the School of Nursing and the Cameron School of Business. To recognize the gift, UNCW renamed the School of Nursing building McNeill Hall. Ronnie McNeill has served on the Cameron Executive Advisory Board, and he and his wife, Cyndi, are members of UNCW's Campaign Cabinet.

Fisher and McNeill were appointed to four-year terms ending in 2015. Hayden was appointed to serve out an unexpired term, which ends in 2013. Fisher was appointed by the UNC Board of Governors, while Hayden and McNeill were appointed by Gov. Perdue. Trustees Wendy Murphy, Wilma Daniels and David Swain were reappointed to four-year terms by the Board of Governors.

For more information on UNCW's Board of Trustees, go to www.uncw.edu/bot/

Media contact:
Dana Fischetti, media relations manager, 910.508.3127 or fischettid@uncw.edu