BUIES CREEK – Campbell University announced its 2012-2015 group of trustees this week, a class that includes four members who will serve their first four-year term.
Oscar Harris (pictured top right), Vance Neal (not pictured), Robert Ransdell (pictured bottom right) and Dr. Barbara Walker (pictured right) are joining multi-term trustees the Rev. J. Charles Allard, Rogers Clark, Dr. Allison Cobb, James Crossingham, Dexter Floyd, Hugh Gordon Maxwell III, Benjamin Thompson and Luby Wood in the group of 12 who will serve through 2015.
“I’m honored to be affiliated with this esteemed group,” said Walker, who practices family medicine for New Hanover Regional Medical Center. “And the more I’m learning, the more impressed I’m becoming with Campbell.”
The Campbell University Board of Trustees, which has the authority to approve campus improvements, construction, appointments and other decisions, is made up of 46 men and women, each of whom serve one four-year term and can return to the board in later years if approved.
On Wednesday, the 2012 trustees attended an orientation to catch them up to date on current projects and projects that may be under consideration during their term. Angier businessman Robert Ransdell called the orientation informative and likened himself to a sponge that’s just begun to get damp from soaking it all in.
“I really believe in what this school is doing,” he said. “And I’m amazed Campbell even considered me (as a trustee).”
More information on Campbell’s four first-time trustees:
OSCAR HARRIS
Dunn Mayor Oscar Harris, a CPA, is the founder and president of Oscar N. Harris & Associates, P.A. Prior to founding the firm, Harris practiced public accounting for eight years and served as a financial executive for a government contracting business for six years.
Harris is an honors graduate of Campbell University and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants.
He is active in many civic and community organizations. In 1991, he received the prestigious annual Public Service Award from the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants.
Harris served on the North Carolina Senate and is currently the mayor of Dunn, N.C.
He is a member of the Glad Tiding Assemblies of God Church and is married to Jean Wood Harris.
VANCE NEAL
Campbell alumnus Vance B. Neal, of Fayetteville, visualized the potential growth of the convenience store industry in the early 1970s and became the first president of the Short Stop Food Marts in 1971..
He received his B.A. degree in Business and Accounting from Campbell University in 1963. After graduating, his became an auditor with the North Carolina Department of Revenue.
Neal’s background in accounting, his attention to detail and his insistence on store cleanliness and merchandising, has made him well respected in the convenience store industry.
In 2005, Neal semi-retired and turned the company over to his three children Chris, Brian and Mary Frances Neal.
Neal is a member of the Haymount United Methodist Church and is married to Dolores Atkins Neal.
DR. BARBARA WALKER
Barbara E. Walker, D.O., of Wilmington is a United States Army veteran who retired with the rank of colonel in 2006. She currently practices family medicine at New Hanover Regional Medical Center.
Walker, a native of Lakewood, Ohio, received her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of California at Irvine and the Doctor of Osteopathy from the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific. She completed an internship in internal medicine at William Beaumont Army Medical Center; a residency in family practice at Womack Army Community Hospital; and a fellowship in faculty development and family medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In addition to her professional responsibilities at New Hanover, Walker serves as an adjunct clinical professor for the Pikeville College of Osteopathic Medicine, an associate professor in the clinical track of family medicine with the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and an associate professor in family medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
She is a member of the Lutheran Church and is married to Allen Walker, who is also a retired United States Army Colonel.
ROBERT RANSDELL
Robert “Bobby” L. Ransdell Sr. of Angier attended a small business school in Raleigh after high school and earned an associate’s degree in accounting. Later, he and his brother Jimmy joined in the family timber business, Circle R Management LLC, which manages land and timber.
Ransdell is also a partner in Southern Seeds Inc., providing seed to golf courses and other municipalities. The family enjoyed many successes in their industry, and in the wake of their father’s death, the Ransdell Family Charitable Trust was formed as a way for the family to make a big impact on their community.
His passion for rural areas began to focus on the shortage of health care professionals. Ransdell began working with Campbell University School of Pharmacy to develop The Ransdell Family Fund Scholarship to “make a difference and allow these funds to directly benefit the students.”
Ransdell is a member of the Cape Fear Presbyterian Church and is married to Jackie Blalock Ransdell.