The North Carolina Board of Governors governs the University of North Carolina System, which consists of 16 public universities and the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics. The BOG's members are elected by the Senate and House of Representatives of the North Carolina General Assembly. The BOG is responsible for managing the UNC System, as well as electing its president.
Republican
Unaffiliated or Unknown
Democrat
Randy Ramsey
- BOG Chairperson
- President of Jarrett Bay Boatworks and partner of Bluewater Yacht Sales
- Former Board of Trustees member at NC State
- Political affiliation: Republican
- Term end: 2025 (appointed in 2017, reappointed to second term)
Wendy Floyd Murphy
- BOG vice chairperson
- Committees: Budget and Finance and Audit, Risk Management, and Compliance
- Hospitality segment of Murphy Family Ventures, a management company. Former member of UNCW Board of Trustees
- Political affiliation: Unaffiliated
- Term end: 2025 (appointed in 2017, reappointed to second term)
Pearl Burris-Floyd
- BOG secretary
- Committees: University Governance Committee and as vice chairperson on Audit, Risk Management, and Compliance Committee
- Chief Government Affairs Officer at Partners Behavioral Health and President and CEO of Hidden Gemstones Consulting, LLC
- Political affiliation: Republican
- Term end: 2023 (appointed in 2015, serving second term)
C. Philip Byers
- Chairperson of the Public Affairs Committee, chairperson of the Subcommittee on Laboratory Schools and secretary of the University Governance Committee
- Senior Managing Partner at Byers, Cotham, Harrington and Lancaster Strategic Partners. President of Challenge Foundation Properties, which helps connect charter schools with the building resources they need for long-term success. Former Sheriff of Rutherford County.
- He is a former Board of Trustees member at Western Carolina.
- Political affiliation: Republican
- Term end: 2023 (appointed in 2015, serving second term)
Carolyn Coward
- Committee on Personnel and Tenure and chairperson of the Strategic Initiatives Committee. Presidential Search Committee
- Principal with The Van Winkle Law Firm and focuses on health care, labor and employment law
- Political affiliation: Republican
- Term end: 2025 (appointed in 2017, reappointed to second term)
James L. Holmes, Jr.
- Chairperson of the Budget and Finance Committee, secretary of the Historically Minority-Serving Institutions Committee, and serves on the Audit, Risk Management, and Compliance Committee.
- Managing partner of Sentinel Risk Advisors, LLC, he oversees operations and development for one of the fastest growing independent risk management and insurance firms in the Southeast.
- Political affiliation: Republican
- Term end: 2023 (appointed in 2015, serving second term)
Terry Hutchens
- Vice chairperson on the University Governance Committee, secretary on Committee on Audit, Risk Management, and Compliance
- Managing partner of Hutchens Law Firm LLP, and concentrates his practice in the areas of real estate, business, creditors' rights, and litigation
- Political affiliation: Republican
- Term end: 2023 (appointed in 2019, serving first term)
Anna Spangler Nelson
- Vice chairperson of the Educational Planning, Policies, and Programs Committee and on the Committee on Strategic Initiatives
- Chair of Spangler Companies, Inc., a private investment firm
- Political affiliation: Unaffiliated
- Term end: 2023 (appointed in 2014, serving second term)
Art Pope
- Committee on Audit, Risk Management, and Compliance and on the Committee on Personnel and Tenure
- Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Variety Wholesalers, Inc. Served four terms as a North Carolina State Representative representing Wake County from 1989-1992 and 1999-2002. State budget director under Governor Pat McCrory from 2013-2014.
- Political affiliation: Republian
- Term end: 2025 (appointed in 2020 to fill vacancy, reappointed to first full term)
Temple Sloan
- Chairperson of the Committee on Educational Planning, Policies and Programs and as member of the Committee on Public Affairs
- Director of Golden Corral Corporation
- Political affiliation: Unknown
- Term end: 2023 (appointed in 2015, serving second term)
Michael Williford
- Secretary of the Budget and Finance Committee and a member of the Strategic Initiatives Committee
- Senior partner of Williford, Hollers, Crenshaw, Bolick & Frangakis LLP
- Political affiliation: Republican
- Term end: 2023 (appointed in 2015, serving second term)
Kellie Hunt Blue
- Chairperson for the Committee on Personnel and Tenure and a member of the Historically Minority-Serving Institutions
- County manager for Robeson County overseeing the business operations of the county government's various departments.
- Former chairperson of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke Board of Trustees
- Political affiliation: Unaffiliated
- Term end: 2025 (appointed in 2017, reappointed to second term)
Jimmy D. Clark
- Committee on Educational Planning, Policies, and Programs and the Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs.
- Owner and president of Guy M. Turner, Inc., a crane, rigging, and heavy/specialized transportation company
- Former chairperson and member of the Board of Trustees at NC State
- Political affiliation: Republican
- Term end: 2025 (appointed in 2020 to fill vacancy, starting first full term)
N. Leo Daughtry
- University Governance Committee, the Committee on Public Affairs, and chairperson of the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee
- Served in NC Senate from 1989-93 and NC House from 1995-2017. Partner in a law firm.
- Political affiliation: Republican
- Term end: 2025 (appointed in 2017, reappointed to second term)
Thomas C. Goolsby
- Committee on Educational Planning, Policies, and Programs and is the vice chairperson of the Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs.
- Trial attorney and professor of law. Former NC Senator from 2010-2014.
- Political affiliation: Republican
- Term end: 2023 (appointed in 2015, serving second term)
Reginald Ronald Holley
- Chairperson of the Historically Minority-Serving Institutions Committee, vice chairperson of the Personnel and Tenure Committee, and secretary of the Laboratory Schools Subcommittee. He is also chairperson of the UNC System Racial Equity Task Force.
- President and founder of The Longmire Group, a firm dedicated to successful business and governmental strategies
- Political affiliation: Republican
- Term end: 2025 (appointed in 2019 to fill vacancy, reappointed to first full term)
Mark Holton
- Chairperson of the Audit, Risk Management, and Compliance Committee and on the Committee on University Governance
- Executive vice president and general counsel for Reynolds American Inc. from 2011-2018
- Political affiliation: Unknown
- Term end: 2023 (appointed in 2019, serving first term)
J. Alex Mitchell
- Vice chairperson of the Budget and Finance Committee and vice chairperson of the Strategic Initiatives Committee
- Real estate developer
- Political affiliation: Unaffiliated
- Term end: 2023 (appointed in 2015, serving second term)
David Powers
- Chairperson of the Committee on University Governance, member of the Committee on Strategic Initiatives
- Managing principal of Powers Strategies LLC, a full-service government relations firm
- Political affiliation: Republican
- Term end: 2023 (appointed in 2011, serving third term)
Joel Ford
- Newly appointed member
- Committee on Educational Planning, Policies, and Programs and the Committee on Historically Minority-Serving Institutions
- Senior vice president of sales and operations at Partners Risk Strategies, LLC, a commercial insurance intermediary in Charlotte. Former state senator from 2013-2019
- Political affiliation: Democrat
- Term end: 2023 (serving the rest of Darrell Allison's term)
John A. Fraley
- Newly appointed member
- Former House member representing Iredell County from 2015-2020.
- Political affiliation: Republican
- Term end: 2025
Sonja Nichols
- Newly appointed member
- Security-services firm president
- Political affiliation: Republican
- Term end: 2025
Kirk Bradley
- Newly appointed member
- Real estate developer
- Political affiliation: Unknown
- Term end: 2025
Lee Roberts
- Newly appointed member
- Investment firm partner and former state budget director for Gov. Pat McCrory
- Political affiliation: Republican
- Term end: 2025
Will Melfi
Will Melfi is the digital managing editor of The Daily Tar Heel. He is a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill studying journalism and political science.
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