Campbell University celebrated the lives and distinguished service of five men and women, awarding honorary degrees to David Clark, Bernard McLeod, Bob Whiteman, Catherine Wood and Luby Wood in the ballroom of the Oscar N. Harris Student Union on Nov. 28.
“The honorary degree represents Campbell University’s highest recognition of outstanding and distinguished contributions to scholarship, creativity, leadership and humanitarian, or public service that represent a state-level, national or international model to others and reflects the broad mission of the University,” President J. Bradley Creed said. “The degree is conferred as a way of honoring a distinguished person’s contributions to Campbell, a specific field, or to society in general.”
The degrees were presented by Creed, Chancellor Jerry M. Wallace, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Adams and Executive Vice President John Roberson.
David K. Clark
David K. Clark, president of Clark Brothers Inc., has served several terms on the Campbell University Board of Trustees. While on the board, he has served as vice chairman of the Advancement Committee and chairman of the Committee on Nominations, and on the Investments Committee, the Golf Course Committee and the Executive Committee.
A graduate of East Carolina University, Clark is an active member of the Elizabethtown Baptist Church, where he has served as a member of the Church Finance Committee, as deacon and as church treasurer.
Clark and his brothers developed Clark Brothers into a multi-corporation, including oil products, commercial properties, White Lake properties, Sampson Bladen Oil Company and Han-Dee Hugo convenience stores. In 2002, Clark received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for his exemplary character and dedication to the principle of Christian higher education.
He and his late wife, Miriam, have been longtime friends and supporters of the University. Together, they have four children: Mary Kay Clark, a 1978 Campbell University graduate, Hope Campbell, Cindy Carroll and Dave Kemp Clark, Jr.
Clark served five terms as a member of the Board of Trustees (1996-1999; 2001-2004; 2006-2009; 2011-2014; 2016-2019) and became a Lifetime Trustee on Jan. 1, 2020.
Bernard F. McLeod, Jr.
Benard F. McLeod is not only a graduate of Campbell College (Associate of Arts, 1946), where he played on both the varsity basketball and baseball teams, but he is also the only member of the Presidential Board of Advisors and Board of Trustees who can claim his boyhood home once stood on the current site of the Convocation Center.
McLeod received his Bachelor of Science degree in business from Wake Forest University, where he was involved in various fraternities and academic societies. After graduation from Wake Forest, he taught high school and coached basketball and baseball in Harnett County.
McLeod and his late wife, Virginia Cozort, are the parents of two sons; B. Franklin McLeod III and W. Stewart McLeod. He has had successful careers as an automobile dealer, insurance agent, tobacco purchaser and, most recently, real estate developer. McLeod’s community involvement includes service as the former president of the Fuquay-Varina Junior Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Fuquay-Varina Town Planning and Zoning Board, former president of the Fuquay Lions Club and member of the Philomathean Literary Society. He is a member of the Fuquay-Varina United Methodist Church.
Additionally, in 1997, McLeod received the Campbell University Alumni Service Award for his steadfast support and dedication to serving mankind. McLeod has served two terms on the Board (2009-2012; 2014-2017) and became a Lifetime Trustee on Jan. 1, 2018.
Robert “Bob” L. Whiteman
Robert “Bob” L. Whiteman served three terms (2006-2009; 2011-2014; 2016-2019) on the Campbell University Board of Trustees. Whiteman, a retired businessman, was the director of the Building Products Division of Household International Inc.
A native of Edenton, North Carolina, he received a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the University of South Carolina. After serving in the United States Navy from 1958-1961, he joined Albemarle Paper Company in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.
Whiteman went on to work for West VACO Pulp and Paper Company and Carolina Fiberglass Products. Before joining Household International, he served as president of Eljer Plumbingware, Inc., a division of the Wallace Murray Corporation. Campbell bestowed the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award on him during spring commencement exercises in 2013.
Whiteman and his wife, Barbara, are members of Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh, where they are active in leadership. They are the parents of two sons, Robert L. Whiteman III and David E. Whiteman. Mr. Whiteman became a Lifetime Trustee on Jan. 1, 2021.
Luby E. and Catherine W. Wood
Luby E. Wood, and wife, Catherine W. Wood, reside in Raleigh, North Carolina, and have deep family roots in Johnston County. The Woods have actively supported their church and the North Carolina Baptists through their gifts of leadership and generous stewardship. The couple received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award in 2011.
In 1999, they established the Luby E. and Catherine Wood Divinity School Endowed Scholarship. The Butler Chapel sanctuary and creation window are named in their honor as well as the residence hall, Luby E. Wood Hall and the Catherine W. Wood School of Nursing. They are the parents of two children, Wendy Wood and Reid Wood.
Luby Wood is retired from Lowe’s with a long tenure of service and administrative responsibilities. His vision and experience with Lowe’s earned him the joy of being a major philanthropist in good causes throughout North Carolina, including Campbell University. In 1999, he received Campbell’s Presidential Medallion, given to those individuals whose lives exemplify the Christian character of loyalty and commitment demonstrated by each of Campbell’s presidents.
Luby Wood has served four terms on Campbell’s Board of Trustees (2002-2005; 2007-2010; 2012-2015; 2017-2020). He was named a Lifetime Trustee on January 1, 2022.
Catherine Wood graduated from Rex Hospital’s nursing school and obtained a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1989. She spent many years working as a nurse in orthopedics and neurology at Gaston Memorial Hospital.