Published on August 31, 2020  
Samford front gate

Twenty-three individuals have agreed to serve as members of the Samford University Presidential Search Committee. The announcement came from Board of Trustees Chair William J. Stevens speaking on behalf of a committee of former trustee board chairs that is charged with establishing the search process.

The search committee is comprised of trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni of the institution. The members are:

Co-Chair Beth Thorne Stukes, Samford trustee, corporate and philanthropic leader.

Co-Chair Tim Vines, Samford trustee, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama Chief Executive Officer.

John Bell, Samford trustee, consultant Oil Equipment Co., Inc.

Karon O. Bowdre ‘77, ’80, Samford trustee, Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. 

Hope Dawson, Samford student, senior, Journalism and Mass Communication major, current president of Student Government Association.

Stephen Dillard ’92, Samford Board of Overseers and President of Samford Alumni Association, Presiding Judge of the Court of Appeals of Georgia.

Sherri Foyt ’09, Samford trustee, former elementary school teacher.

Lisa Gurley ’01, ’03, associate professor, Moffett & Sanders School of Nursing, immediate past chair of the Samford faculty senate.

 Keith Herron ’86, ’89, Samford Board of Overseers, retired Senior Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate Responsibility and Community Engagement, Regions Bank.

Robert Holmes, Samford trustee, retired Senior Vice President, Alabama Power Company

Jacob Hopkins, Samford student, junior, Marketing/Finance major, Samford Ambassador.

Jonathan Jenkins, Samford student, Cumberland School of Law, second year.

John E. King, Samford trustee, Church/Community Relations Specialist, Birmingham Metro Baptist Association.

Jewel Littleton ’05, ’10, Samford Board of Overseers and President of Samford’s Black Alumni Association, Director of Educational Advancement City of Birmingham.

Anthony Overton, professor and chair, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Howard College of Arts and Sciences.

Jennifer Davis Rash ’07, president and editor-in-chief, The Alabama Baptist.

Lane Smith, Samford, director, Student Financial Services.

Sharon Stuart ’87, ’90, Samford trustee, partner, Christian & Small LLP. 

Danny Wood ‘99, Samford trustee, senior pastor, Shades Mountain Baptist Church. 

Rusty Yerkes, associate professor of finance, Brock School of Business, member of the university committee on retirement.

William J. Stevens (ex-officio) ’70, chairman, Samford Board of Trustees, retired president and chief executive officer, Motion Industries, Birmingham.

Clark Watson (ex-officio) ’81, Samford General Counsel and past chair Samford Board of Trustees.

Michael D. Morgan (ex-officio), Samford assistant to the president, search committee secretary.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.