Board of Trustees increasingly reflects changes in student, alumni population

Wake Forest University’s most diverse class of Trustees took office for terms beginning July 1, 2017.

The governing group more closely reflects the current makeup of the University’s students, faculty and alumni. Nearly 30 percent of the class of 2021 enrolling this fall are minority or international students.

“Our strength as a University rests in large part on having a Board of Trustees who bring their experiences, wisdom and aspirations for Wake Forest to the table,” said President Nathan O. Hatch. “I am pleased to welcome our new trustees and am deeply grateful to all our Board members.”

New Board members include:  

• James E. Dixon (Manhasset, N.Y.) is the President and CEO of Dixon Talent Inc., a boutique management company based in New York City that specializes in all aspects of entertainment including television, film, publishing, new media, live appearance and commercials. James and his wife Tanja serve on the Wake Forest Parents’ Council and are founding partners of the Office of Personal and Career Development.
• Hon. Donna F. Edwards (’80) (Oxon Hill, Md.) was the first African American woman elected to represent Maryland in the United States Congress. Born in Yanceyville, N.C., Edwards grew up in a military family, and lived in every region of the country and internationally. Edwards has been a tireless advocate of causes important to women, youth and consumers. She earned B.A. degrees in English and Spanish from Wake Forest.
• Herman E. Eure (’74) (Kernersville, N.C.) earned his Ph.D. at Wake Forest in 1974, becoming the first African American graduate student on the Reynolda Campus, the first African American to earn a doctorate at Wake Forest, and, in 1974 at age 27, one of the first African Americans to join the faculty. He helped establish the Office of Minority Affairs, now the Intercultural Center, and the First Generation Student program, now the Magnolia Scholars program. In 2017, Eure was awarded the Medallion of Merit, Wake Forest’s highest honor. He retired in 2013 after 34 years as a Wake Forest biology professor.
• Jorge Fournier (’18) (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) is a native of Puerto Rico. He is a rising senior at Wake Forest where he is studying finance and entrepreneurship. He serves as vice president of the Organization of Latin American Students. Fournier also serves on the Student Advisory Board of the School of Business and as a President’s Aide.
• Jorge Rodriguez (MBA ’83) (Mexico City, Mexico and Davidson, N.C.) is the director, Wealth and Asset Management of SURA Mexico. Rodriguez worked for Banamex, Mexico’s second largest bank, for three years before enrolling in Wake Forest University, where he earned his MBA in 1983. He has served as a member of the School of Business Board of Visitors for more than 25 years.
• Shannan Spence Townsend (’87) (Charlotte, N.C.) is an executive vice president at Wells Fargo & Company and heads its Consumer Division within Corporate Banking, where she leads a team of professionals in numerous cities across the U.S. and focuses on initiatives to foster talent development and talent engagement. A 1987 graduate of Wake Forest, Townsend has served on both the Alumni and Parents’ Councils.

Donna A. Boswell (’72, MA ’74) will continue to serve as the Chair of the 46-member Board. Bobby R. Burchfield (’76) and Gerald Roach (’80, JD ’82) have been re-elected Vice Chairs of the Board, and B. Hofler Milam will continue to serve as Treasurer. J. Reid Morgan and Anita M. Conrad will remain Secretary of the Board and Assistant Secretary of the Board, respectively. Each of these officers will serve for the 2017-2018 term.

Returning members elected to a new term include:

John J. Bitove Jr., Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Jocelyn Burton (’80), Oakland, Calif.
Lisbeth C. Evans (’74, ’78 MBA), Winston-Salem, N.C.
Frank B. Holding Jr., Raleigh, N.C.
Lloyd P. Tate Jr., Southern Pines, N.C.

Returning members elected as Life Trustees include:

Louis Bissette Jr. (’65), Asheville, N.C.
Albert R. Hunt (’65), Washington, D.C.
Adelaide A. Sink (’70), Thonotosassa, Fla.
Andrew J. Schindler, Winston-Salem, N.C.