Auburn University Board of Trustees Biographies

TRUSTEE PROFILES
Terms of service for AU Trustees listed below are consistent with Alabama Attorney General Troy King's opinion of October 7, 2005.

	John G. Blackwell, District 8 P.O. Box 19065 Huntsville, AL 35804 (256) 874-3991 Blackwell, Chairman of INKANA Properties, a real estate developer that specializes in complex joint ventures and finance structures, was appointed to the Board of Trustees by Gov. Don Siegelman to represent the 8th District. His term expires March 7, 2012.The former Captain of the Auburn basketball team received a B.S. in Business from Auburn in 1964 and completed the course work for a doctorial degree at the University of Montevallo and the University of Alabama. During his 20 plus years in higher education administration, he served as CFO for two State Universities and was the Development officer for the AU College of Sciences and Mathematics. He is a active past member of the Auburn Alumni Association. John has three sons, Taylor '89, Slade (UM '90) and Austin '04. He is married to Shirley J. Andrews and together they enjoy seven grandchildren, fitness activities and educational travel.

	Dwight L. Carlisle, District 4 1797 Andrews Mill Road Tallassee, AL 36078 (334) 857-2923 dcarlisle@comlinkinc.net Carlisle, Alabama's Revenue Commissioner until 2004, was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2004 to represent the 4th district. His term expires on February 9, 2011. Carlisle graduated from Auburn in 1958 with a B.S. degree in Textile Engineering. He retired as president and chief executive officer of the Russell Corporation in 1991 after 33 years with the company.

	Byron P. Franklin, District 9 Buffalo Rock, Inc. 111 Oxmoor Road, Birmingham, AL 35209 (205) 942-3435 A native of Sheffield, Franklin starred in football at Auburn and received a B.S. in vocational and distributive education. Appointed to the Board of Trustees by Gov. Don Siegelman, Franklin represents the 9th District for a term that expires on April 21, 2011. Franklin was licensed to minister in 1998, director of special marketing and public relations for Birmingham-based Buffalo Rock Co., vice president of B.B.C. Foods and co-owner of an Auburn restaurant. Franklin, who was assistant director of athletic development at AU from 1991-93, is the father of four children.

	Samuel L. Ginn, At-Large 400 El Camino Real, Suite 1400 San Mateo, CA 94402 (650) 342-3650 A native of Anniston, Ginn is a pioneer in the wireless communications industry. A 1959 AU graduate, Ginn is a retired chairman and CEO of Vodafone. He was appointed by Gov. Bob Riley for an at large seat on the Board in 2005. His term expires on February 16, 2012. His $25 million gift to the AU College of Engineering in 2001 helped fund a wireless engineering degree program and has helped vault Auburn into the nation's elite wireless research and teaching institutions. In recognition of the gift, the college was renamed the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. Ginn, who resides in Hillsborough, Calif., is married to Ann Vance Ginn. They have three children and six grandchildren.

	Gaines Lanier, District 5 J. Smith Lanier & Co. P.O. Box 70 300 West 10th Street West Point, GA 31833 (706) 645-8215 Fax: (706) 643-5786 Lanier was appointed as member of the Board of Trustees in 2007. His term expires on May 29, 2014. Lanier graduated from AU in 1974 with a bachelor of science in business administration. He earned a football scholarship to Auburn and lettered at defensive tackle in 1972, 1973 and 1974, playing for AU legend Ralph “Shug” Jordan. He has served as a member of various business and civic organizations and boards, including the Auburn University College of Business Advisory Board, the Board of Trustees for the Chattahoochee Valley Educational Foundation and the Board of Directors for the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation. Lanier has two daughters, Ashley and Lindsey, both Auburn graduates. He and his wife, Sonia, live in Lanett, Ala.

	Robert E. Lowder, District 2 Colonial Financial Center P.O. Box 241148 Montgomery, AL 36124 (334) 676-5008 Fax: (334) 676-5345 Lowder, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Colonial BancGroup, Inc., was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 1983 by Gov. George Wallace to represent the 2nd District. Appointed to a second term by Gov. Don Siegelman, his term will expire on April 21, 2011. Lowder graduated with high honors from Auburn in 1964 with a B.S. in Business Administration. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army and served two years active duty. He later served in the Alabama Army National Guard, reaching the rank of captain. Married to Charlotte Lowder, he has three children.

	Charles D. McCrary, At-large 600 North 18th Street Birmingham, AL 35291 (205) 257-2243 McCrary, president and chief executive officer of Alabama Power Company, was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2004 as an at-large member. His term expires on April 5, 2011. McCrary joined Alabama Power during the summer of 1970 following his freshman year at Auburn and has held various positions of increasing responsibility within Southern Company. In addition to his B.S. degree from Auburn, he earned a J.D. from Birmingham School of Law. He is married to the former Phyllis Brantley of Birmingham and has two sons.

	Earlon C. McWhorter, At-large 1117 Glenwood Terrace Anniston, Alabama 36207 (256) 238-8122 McWhorter was appointed as an at-large member of the Board of Trustees in 2001 by Gov. Don Siegelman. His term expires on February 20, 2008. An Alabama native, McWhorter graduated from Auburn with a B.S. in Building Science in 1968. He is president of McWhorter and Co, Inc., an Alabama-based general contracting company; owner of McWhorter Properties, and owner of a hotel in Anniston. McWhorter served as a member of the Auburn Alumni Association, chairman of the Greater Auburn Fund and as a member of the Executive Committee. He donated more than $2 million in 1998 for the construction of the new Auburn Center for Women's Athletics. McWhorter, who also served on the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, is married to Betty G. McWhorter and has two children.

	John C.H. Miller, Jr., District 1 P.O. Box 46 Mobile, AL 36601 (251) 439-7518 Miller, the founder and chairman of the Mobile-based law firm of Miller, Hamilton, Snider & Odom, L.L.C., was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2000 by Gov. Don Siegelman to represent the 1st Congressional District. His term will expire on May 10, 2012. Miller, who served as Deputy to the Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation during the Carter Administration, has been a faculty member of the School of Banking of the South at Louisiana State University. Married to former Susan Glaze Ross, the couple has three children.

	Sarah B. Newton, District 7 570 Newton Road Fayette, AL 35555 (205) 932-6251 snewton330@aol.com Newton, principal of Fayette Elementary School, was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2004 to represent the 7th district. Her term expires on February 9, 2011. Newton received a B.S. degree in Elementary Education from Auburn in 1974 and has a masters degree and Certification in Administration from the University of Alabama. She has been an administrator and teacher of elementary education since 1974. She and her husband Bill Newton have three sons.

	James W. Rane, District 3 P.O. Box 610 Abbeville, AL 36310 (334) 585-2291 Rane was appointed to the Board of Trustees by Gov. Don Siegelman to represent the 3rd District for a term that expires on May 19, 2011. He has a B.S. in business administration from Auburn, a doctorate of jurisprudence from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University and completed the Owner/President Management Program of the Harvard Business School. The president and chief executive officer of Great Southern Wood Preserving, Inc., is married to Angela Rane and has three children.

	Governor Bob Riley, President of Board State Capitol 600 Dexter Avenue Montgomery, Alabama 36130 (334) 242-7100 Governor Bob Riley was sworn into office as Alabama's 52nd chief executive on Jan. 20, 2003, after representing the state for six years in the United States Congress. He was born and raised in Ashland, where his family has lived on ranches and farms for six generations. Gov. Riley is married to the former Patsy Adams. The couple has four children.

	Paul J. Spina, Jr., District 6 President Pro Tempore Spina Enterprises, Inc. 3477 Indian Lake Way Pelham, AL 35124 (205) 621-2000 Spina, a Birmingham native and Shelby County business executive, was appointed to the Board of Trustees by Gov. Fob James in 1995 to represent the 6th District. His term expires on September 2, 2009. Spina, an honor student, received a B.S. in electrical engineering from Auburn in 1963. The civic leader and ex-president of the Auburn Alumni Association, is married to Bena Ann Spina and has three children.

	Virginia N. Thompson, District 3-Lee Co. East Alabama Medical Center 2000 Pepperell Parkway Opelika, AL 36801 (334) 528-5924 virginia.thompson@eamc.org Thompson, marketing director for East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2004. Her term expires on April 21, 2011. Before joining EAMC in 1998, Thompson worked as an accountant at firms in the Mobile area. She graduated cum laude from Auburn in 1978. Thompson is married to Timothy Thompson and has three children.