The Board of Trustees is responsible for providing governance and oversight of Furman University and for identifying, deliberating and acting upon matters of strategic importance to the university’s well-being and successful achievement of its mission and goals.
Board of Trustees
Board Members
View a current list of board members and read their biographies.
Charles Ambrose
Chancellor, Henderson State University
Kevin R. Bryant
Managing Director, Marsh McLennan
Kevin T. Byrne
Chief Executive Officer, The University Financing Foundation
Christi Newsom Byron
Retired President, Southeast for NFP Corporation
Jolley Bruce Christman
Founder, Research for Action
Thomas Cullen
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Cynthia Davis
Former Vice President, Nike, Inc. & President, Nike Golf
Kristin Baucom Davies
Partner – Family-Owned Business Franchises
Lee C. Dilworth
Founder and CEO, ReVIDA Recovery Centers
Frances Ellison
RETIRED
Johnna Frierson
Asst. Dean, Graduate & Postdoctoral Diversity & Inclusion/Asst. Professor of the Practice of Medical Education at Duke University School of Medicine
David L. Hauser
Chairman and CEO (Retired), FairPoint Communications, Inc.
Robert E. Hill
Retired CEO, Acosta, Inc.
Yendelela Neely Holston
Partner & Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
Mark A. Kaiser
Independent Consultant
Raymond B. King
President and CEO, Zoo Atlanta
James A. Lanier Jr.
Retired Vice President, Interface
David Laxer
PRESIDENT / OWNER, BERN’S STEAK HOUSE
Anthony W. McDade
Retired Executive Director, United Ministries
Traci Miller
CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGIST
Jason Richards
Global Business Director, NAI Earle Furman
Paul Robertson
Partner, Edge Capital Group LLC
Susan Thomson Shi
Retired First Lady and Civic and Community Volunteer
A. Alexander Taylor
Retired Chairman and CEO, FGX International
Elizabeth B. Taylor
Brenda J. Thames
FORMER VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF ACADEMIC EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PRISMA HEALTH
Lizanne Thomas
Chair, Corporate Governance Practice
Rachelle H. Thompson
Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, Carpenter Technology Corporation
C. Kemmons Wilson, III
Principal, Kemmons Wilson Companies
Matthew W. Wilson, MD, FACS
Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Director, Hamilton Eye Institute
Richard W. Wrenn
President (Retired), Premier Magnesia, LLC
Trustees Emeriti
Trustees emeriti are former board members who have made extraordinary contributions to Furman.
Robert H. Buckman
Former CEO, Bulab Holdings, Inc.
Merl Code
Counsel, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak, & Stewart
John C. Cothran
Retired Chair, Cothran Company and Past President, Greenville Board of Realtors and Home Builders Association
Ravenel B. Curry III
Founder and Co-CIO, Eagle Capital Management, LLC.
W. Randy Eaddy
Former President and CEO, The Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County/Former Partner, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
David G. Ellison
Wealth Management Advisor, Northwestern Mutual
P. Edwin Good Jr.
Founder, Hampton Development Co.
Sean P. Hartness
CEO of Hartness Development
Francie Heller
MANAGING PARTNER
William B. Howes
Retired CEO, Inland Paperboard & Packaging, Inc.
Stanford J. Jennings
Southeast Central Regional Sales Manager, New Balance Athletics, Inc.
Carl F. Kohrt
Former Interim President, Furman/Former President and CEO, Battelle
Richard W. Riley
Former U.S. Secretary of Education and former SC governor
Leighan Roberts Rinker
Founder and President, Beginnings of Palm Beach County
Daniel S. Sanders
Former President, ExxonMobil Chemical Company and former Chairman, American Chemical Council
Emilyn Childs Sanders
Member of the Board of Trustees, Upcountry History Museum
Elizabeth Peace Stall
Founding President, The Peace Center
Peace Sullivan
Retired Psychoanalyst
David Trone
U.S. House of Representatives; Founder and Former CEO/President, Total Wine & More
Baxter M. Wynn
Retired Minister of Pastoral Care and Community Relations, First Baptist Church
Staff
Meet the staff who serve as a liaison between board members and our community.
Liz Seman
Chief of Staff, Liaison to the Board of Trustees
Meagan Magnus
Executive Assistant for Chief of Staff and Liaison to the Board of Trustees, Office of the General Counsel
Michelle Shaw
Executive Assistant, Offices of the President and Provost