Board of Trustees | About | Furman University

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 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 Corporate Services

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

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

Peace Sullivan

Retired Psychoanalyst

A. Alexander Taylor

Retired Chairman and CEO, FGX International

Brenda J. Thames

Vice President & Chief Academic Officer & Provost, Institutional Culture & Inclusivity, University of S.C. School of Medicine Greenville

Rachelle H. Thompson

Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, Carpenter Technology Corporation

William B. Traxler

Former Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals

David Trone

U.S. House of Representatives; Owner and President, Total Wine & More

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

John C. Yates

Chair of Technology Practice, Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

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

W. Randy Eaddy

Former President and CEO, The Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County/Former Partner, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP

Sean P. Hartness

CEO of Hartness Development

Francie Heller

Director, Arabesque Asset Management USA

Gordon R. Herring

Retired Executive Vice President, TeleCable Corp.

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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

rileyinstitute@furman.edu

Leighan Roberts Rinker

Founder and President, Beginnings of Palm Beach County

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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

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Frank R. Shaw

Owner and CEO of Shaw Executive Services, Inc. and Canton Convalescent Center, Inc.

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Elizabeth Peace Stall

Founding President, The Peace Center

Baxter M. Wynn

Retired Minister of Pastoral Care and Community Relations, First Baptist Church

Staff

Meet the staff assistants who serve as a liaison between board members and our community.

Liz Seman

Chief of Staff, Liaison to the Board of Trustees

8642943474
liz.seman@furman.edu

Kerri Aldridge

Executive Assistant to the President/Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees

8642943324
kerri.aldridge@furman.edu