The Campbell University Board of Trustees has named three new members to the board.
New trustees (joining the board for the first time) include Gene Lewis III from First Citizens Bank in Raleigh, David W. Wharton from Wells Fargo in Winston-Salem and North Carolina Secretary of State, Elaine Marshall.
“Campbell welcomes new trustees Lewis, Wharton, and Marshall, who join returning trustees for service on our board,” said President J. Bradley Creed. “It is an honor to work with such a group of dedicated and capable people.”
In addition to the three new members, five individuals have returned to the Campbell board after taking the required one year of leave following their four-year term ending in 2018. The returning trustees, who will serve another four-year term (2019-2022), include Leah McCall Devlin of Raleigh, David Hailey of Raleigh, Anna Drew Kirk of Raleigh, William “Bill” Pully of Raleigh and Henry Smith of Farmville, NC.
Benjamin N. Thompson will serve as Chairman of the Board for two years beginning Jan. 1, 2019. Thompson received his undergraduate degree cum laude from Campbell in 1976, and earned his Juris Doctor in 1979 from the Norman A. Wiggins School of Law. In 1997, he joined Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton, LLP in Raleigh as a partner and chairman of the Litigation Practice Section. Prior to that, he practiced law in Harnett County for 18 years. Thompson has previously served as the Campbell University Board of Trustees Chairman and a member of the Campbell Law Board of Visitors. Dr. Leah McCall Devlin, Professor of the Practice in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, will serve as Vice Chair of the Board in 2019.
“I am very excited about working with President Creed, a wonderful group of administrators, and especially the outstanding individuals who have so graciously agreed to give of their time and serve on the Board of Trustees,” Thompson said. “I know that Dr. Devlin joins me in thanking them all for their service.”
Meet the new trustees
- David Webb Wharton, originally from Richmond, Virginia, is a 1989 graduate of the Campbell Trust and Wealth Management program and the Regional Manager of the Private Bank at Wells Fargo in Winston Salem. He has been honored as a distinguished alumnus of Campbell University and of the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business, and has been a member of Campbell’s Presidential Board of Advisors, the Trust Education Foundation and the Business Advisory Council. Wharton previously served on the board of United Way and Chamber of Commerce, and is currently on the Board of Trustees of Old Salem Museum and Gardens. He is a member of Munsey United Methodist Church, where he serves on the finance committee. Wharton and his wife Krista have two sons currently working and studying in Nashville, Tennessee.
- Gene Lewis III is the Senior Vice President, Marketing Director of Trust and Fiduciary Services for First Citizens Bank in Raleigh. He has been a member of the First Citizens Wealth Management Team since 2008 and has held multiple management positions at First Citizens, managing personnel as well as budget and finance responsibilities. Lewis is a 1995 graduate of Campbell University with a B.A. in Trust Management and a minor in financial planning and holds the Certified Retirement Services Professional designation. He is also a graduate of the National Graduate Trust School at Northwestern University. Lewis is currently a Trustee at Harnett Health Systems and serves on the Executive Board (former chairman) of the Campbell University Trust Education Foundation. Lewis is married to Patricia Harmon Lewis, who is also a graduate of Campbell.
- Elaine Marshall is North Carolina’s Secretary of State. Born in rural Lineboro, Maryland, Marshall made history by being the first woman elected to statewide executive office in 1996. Marshall earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and later earned her law degree from Campbell University in 1981. She distinguished herself in the courtroom, where she represented women who were victims of domestic violence. In 1993-1994, Marshall served in the North Carolina Senate, was named Rookie of the Year and listed among Legislators to Watch by the News & Observer. Sec. Marshall is a member of the Divine Street United Methodist Church in Dunn. She is married to Jesse Thomas Bunn and has five step-children and seven grandchildren.