BUIES CREEK – A longtime trustee and Campbell supporter and member of the first graduating class of the Norman A. Wiggins School of Law will serve as chairman of the Board of Trustees through 2013.
Attorney Benjamin N. Thompson of Dunn succeeded Bob Barker in the role on Jan. 1. He has previously served as chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees and chairman of the law school’s Board of Visitors. In 2010, he was named a Distinguished Alumnus by the University.
Thompson said it was honor to be elected chairman, citing those who’ve held the seat in recent years.
“I have the greatest love for Campbell … and it holds a very special place in my heart for many reasons,” said Thompson, whose wife Patrice is also a Campbell graduate. “I am proud of the many accomplishments that have taken place at Campbell, and I’m excited about the plans for the future.”
By the end of Thompson’s term, Campbell will have started classes at its School of Osteopathic Medicine, which is currently under construction on U.S. 421 near the Buies Creek main campus. He said his biggest challenge as chairman will be continuing the good work of those before him.
“Campbell has been blessed with outstanding leaders,” Thompson said. “(Former chairmen) Harold Wells, Bob Barker, Ray Bryan and Fred Taylor … they are some of the finest individuals I’ve had the opportunity to work with. Quite frankly, they will be tough acts to follow but I will try to do my best.”
He also cited Campbell’s two recent presidents as mentors.
“I’ve had the privilege of working with Dr. (Norman) Wiggins and Dr. (Jerry) Wallace, two men I hold in the highest regard and who are examples of what I would aspire to be.”
Thompson is a partner and Litigation Section Chairman of Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton, LLP in Raleigh. His background includes extensive trial experience in both state and federal courts throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, having graduated cum laude from Campbell in 1976 and receiving his Juris Doctor from the University’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law in 1979.
His practice at Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton focuses on complex litigation, government contracting law, labor law and trade regulation.
He is admitted to the Bars of the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth, Eighth, Tenth and Federal Circuits, various U.S. District Courts, and the State of North Carolina. Active in both professional and civic organizations, Thompson is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, the Wake County Bar Association, the National Contract Management Association and North Carolina Advocates for Justice. He has also been featured in the publications, “Best Lawyers in America,” “North Carolina Super Lawyers” and “Business North Carolina Magazine, Legal Elite.”
He and Patrice have a son, Graham, a graduate of Appalachian State; and their daughter-in-law Ashlyn received her Masters of Education from Campbell in May 2011. They have two grandchildren, Olivia and Benjamin.