4 Alumni Selected to Fill BOT Seats

Paul Fulton Jr., Karol Mason, Hugh McColl Jr. and Nelson Schwab III -- all UNC graduates -- will replace four trustees whose terms end in late June. The appointments will become effective July 1 after the terms of Chairwoman Anne Cates and members William Jordan, Cressie Thigpen and Charles Sanders expire.

Cates will leave the board to become a member of the BOG in July. The BOT will elect a new chairman the same month.

Cates said Student Body President Justin Young also will assume his role as an ex officio member in May.

The four members appointed by the BOG will serve four-year terms. Young will serve for one year.

Cates lauded the diversity of the appointees' backgrounds as an opportunity to bring a wide spectrum of expertise to the board.

Fulton, who graduated with a degree in business administration in 1957, formerly served as dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School and is currently president of Sara Lee Corp.

McColl, also a 1957 graduate with a degree in business administration, serves as the president of Bank of America and was UNC's Commencement speaker in 1989. The McColl Building, which now houses the business school, was named in his honor. McColl is widely regarded as one of the most powerful and innovative banking moguls in the world.

Neither Fulton nor McColl could be reached for comment Sunday.

Schwab served as the CEO of Kings Entertainment Co. before it was sold to Paramount and has since run an investment banking firm in Charlotte. A 1967 graduate with a bachelor's degree in English, Schwab has remained active in several campus advisory boards.

As an incoming UNC undergraduate from Ohio, Schwab said he was unfamiliar with the South and the campus but has since developed an affinity for the area. "It was one of those things where you walk on the campus and feel like it's right for you," Schwab said.

Mason, who graduated from UNC in 1979 with a math degree, has since served as a public finance lawyer in Atlanta. She also has remained active in campus activities as a participant in the Campus Visitors Committee and the Arts and Sciences Foundation.

Mason said she is enthusiastic about contributing to UNC as a trustee. "I just ... wanted to find some way to get involved and give back," she said.

Edward Broadwell, chairman of the BOG's governance committee, said the nominees' approval will become official after they participate in an orientation session on the UNC campus later this month.

Cates said she thinks the new trustees will be a positive addition. "I'm sure it will work out very well because there will still be some members on the board with experience."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.