Biographies of the Board of Regents

: Kenneth R. Bernard, Jr.

Kenneth R. Bernard, Jr., represents the 13th Congressional District on the Board of Regents. He is a partner with Sherrod & Bernard and serves as the county attorney for Douglas County and general counsel to the Douglas County Board of Education. Regent Bernard also served as a judge advocate general in the U.S. Marine Corps, vice chairman of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, chairman of the Marine Corps Association of Georgia Lawyers and a member of the United Way Advisory Board. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from the University of Georgia. Bernard and his wife, Carolyne, live in Douglasville and have four children.
: James “Jim” A. Bishop

Jim Bishop is an attorney with The Bishop Law Firm in Brunswick. A native of Alma, Georgia, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Georgia in 1964 and his jurisprudence degree from the Walter F. George School of Law in 1967. Regent Bishop specializes in commercial and residential real estate law, contract law, corporate law, banking law, and estate planning. He is a past chair of the Mercer University Board of Trustees and the Mercer University Law School Dean Search Committee. On Law Day in 2003, Mercer University honored Regent Bishop with the Meritorious Service Award for his service to the School of Law. Regent Bishop is the immediate past chairman of the United States District Court Advisory Committee for the Southern District of Georgia, former president of the State Bar of Georgia Younger Lawyers Section, the Brunswick Bar Association and the Brunswick Judicial Circuit Bar Association. He currently serves as chairman of the Board of the Directors of The Coastal Bank of Georgia, an affiliate of Synovus Financial Corp., and the Southeast Georgia Health System Foundation. Regent Bishop serves on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and was one of the original trustees of Leadership Georgia, sponsored by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. Appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue, Regent Bishop and his wife, Mary, reside on Sea Island. They are active members of the St. Simons Presbyterian Church where Regent Bishop has served as deacon, elder and trustee.
: Hugh A. Carter, Jr.

Hugh Carter is Chairman and President of Darby Printing Company, an Atlanta book manufacturer. He is a member of the Carter Center Board of Councilors and the Rotary Club of Atlanta. He is a past member of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Tech Foundation and formerly served as Chairman of the Alumni Advisory Board of Georgia Tech’s School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Carter spent four years on United States President Jimmy Carter’s Senior White House Staff as Special Assistant to the President for Administration, reporting directly to the President. Carter also spent eight years with the John H. Harland Company, and was a vice president of the firm when he left to join the White House staff. More recently, he served as an Attaché for the U.S. Virgin Islands Olympic Committee during the Games of the XXVI Olympiad in Atlanta. Carter received a bachelor of industrial engineering degree from Georgia Institute of Technology and a master of business administration degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Regent Carter serves as a Regent-at-Large and resides in Atlanta.
: William H. Cleveland

William H. Cleveland is a physician specializing in nephrology. He currently serves as Clinical Nephrologist on the medical staff of five Atlanta hospitals and Medical Director for four Atlanta-area dialysis centers. Cleveland is President of Southwest Atlanta Nephrology and Nephronet LLC and is a past president of the Crawford Long Hospital Medical Staff. From 1991 to 1996, he served as co-Medical Director for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games and was a member of the International Olympic Commission. The commission honored him with a Distinguished Service Award in 1999. Cleveland earned a bachelor of science degree from Morehouse College and a doctor of medicine degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He resides in Atlanta and is an at-large member of the Board of Regents.
: Robert “Bob” F. Hatcher

Bob Hatcher is President and CEO of MidCountry Financial Corporation. He was the President and CEO of First Liberty Bank from 1988 until its merger with BB&T in 2000. Prior to First Liberty, he was with Trust Company Bank (SunTrust) for 27 years. Regent Hatcher is Co-Chairman of the Commission for a New Georgia. He serves on the boards of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation and NewTown Macon. In 2007, Regent Hatcher was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team Foundation. He received the 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. Regent Hatcher is an honorary Lifetime Member of the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce, which named him its 2005 Citizen of the Year. Appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue to as an at large member of the Board of Regents, Regent Hatcher resides in Macon.
: Felton Jenkins

Felton Jenkins is a retired partner with the law firm of King & Spalding, where he served for a time as Co-Chair of the firm’s Litigation Section. He has served as Chair of the Georgia Justice Project and as President of the Atlanta Chapter of the American Cancer Society and the Morgan County Foundation. Regent Jenkins also has served on the Georgia Agricultural Exposition Authority, the Georgia Appellate Judicial Selection Commission, the Georgia Judicial Process Review Commission and the Georgia Joint Study Commission on Revenue Structure. He earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Georgia, where he was Chair of the Law School’s Board of Visitors and Secretary of the University of Georgia Foundation. He is a Life Fellow of both the American Bar Foundation and the State Bar of Georgia. Appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue as an at-large member of the Board of Regents, Regent Jenkins resides in Madison with his wife, Julie.
: W. Mansfield Jennings, Jr.

W. Mansfield Jennings, Jr., a native of Hawkinsville, was appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue to represent the Eighth Congressional District on the Board of Regents. He is Chairman of ComSouth Corporation, a full-service telecommunications company. Regent Jennings served as ComSouth’s CEO for several decades until 2003. Regent Jennings also is Chairman of SunMark Community Bank and SunMark Bankshares, Inc., a bank holding company. In addition, he is the former Chairman of Taylor Regional Hospital, a past President and Director of the Georgia Telephone Association and a former member of the United States Telephone Association. Regent Jennings also is a long-time member of the Board of Trustees of the Middle Georgia College Foundation and is very active in his community, having served as President and Charter Director of the Hawkinsville-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce, President of the Hawkinsville Rotary Club and District Governor of Rotary International. Regent Jennings earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from Georgia Tech and a Master of Business Administration from Emory University. He resides in Hawkinsville with his wife, Genelle.
: James R. Jolly

Appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue in November 2003, to represent Georgia’s Ninth Congressional District, Jim Jolly is Chairman of the Board of J&J Industries, Inc., a carpet-manufacturing firm he joined in 1967 and retired from in 2007. Regent Jolly, a native of Dalton, is extensively involved in the community, serving as a charter member of the board of directors of the Dalton-Whitfield Boys and Girls Club and of Leadership Dalton. Jolly is a past Chairman of the local Governmental Study Task Force Committee, the local United Way campaign, the Dalton Junior College Foundation and the Carpet and Rug Institute. He is a former member of the executive board of the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Tech Alumni Trustees, the Northwest Georgia Regional Advisory council, the Georgia Cities Foundation Board, and the Hamilton Medical Center Board. Regent Jolly currently chairs the Covenant College Foundation Board of Trustees and serves on the Dalton State College Foundation Executive Committee. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in textiles from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Regent Jolly resides in Dalton with his wife, Judy. They are active members of Grace Presbyterian Church.
: Donald M. Leebern, Jr.

Don Leebern is Chairman of Georgia Crown, Alabama Crown, and Tennessee Crown Distributing Companies. Regent Leebern spends most of his time at the Atlanta office. Georgia Crown Distributing Company, Inc., is a wholesaler, bottler and importer of liquor, wine, beer, and water products. Regent Leebern is Chair of the Board of Directors of MCG Health Inc., the non-profit corporation that operates the Medical College of Georgia Hospital and Clinics. He also is a member of numerous industry and social organizations. First appointed to the Board of Regents in 1991 and re-appointed in 1998 by Governor Zell Miller and again in 2005 by Gov. Sonny Perdue, Regent Leebern serves as a member At-Large. Regent Leebern served as Board Chair from 1994 to 1995. He studied Business Administration at the University of Georgia and played varsity football in 1957, 1958, and 1959. He was honored with the Georgia Athletic Association’s 2002 “Circle of Distinction Award.”
: Elridge W. McMillan

Elridge McMillan is President Emeritus of the Southern Education Foundation, Inc., in Atlanta, Georgia. He is Scholar in Residence at Atlanta Metropolitan College and an education consultant. He has devoted his career to education. Regent McMillan has received numerous awards and honors for his service to education and the community. Regent McMillan was first appointed to the Board in 1975 by Gov. George Busbee. He was reappointed by Governor Busbee in 1982, and subsequently reappointed in 1989 by Gov. Joe Frank Harris, in 1996 by Gov. Zell Miller and in 2003 by Gov. Sonny Perdue. Regent McMillan served as Chair of the Board of Regents from 1986 to 1987. He graduated from Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) in 1954 with an A.B. Degree in English and the Teachers College at Columbia University, New York in 1959 with a master of arts in guidance and student personnel administration. Regent McMillan also completed post-graduate work at Columbia University from 1960 to 1961. He has been awarded several honorary doctorates from around the nation. Regent McMillan began his career in 1954 in the Atlanta Public Schools. From 1965 to 1967, he served as Program Operations Supervisor in the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity for the Southeastern Region, and from 1967 to 1968, he was Chief of the Education Branch, OCR, HEW, Region IV. Regent McMillan resides in Atlanta and represents the Fifth Congressional District on the Board of Regents.
: William “Dink” H. NeSmith, Jr.

Appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue in March 2008 to represent the Tenth Congressional District, Dink NeSmith is co-owner and president of Athens-based Community Newspapers, Inc., publisher of several dozen newspapers in Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas. A 1970 graduate of The University of Georgia (UGA), Regent NeSmith is chairman of the university’s Fanning Institute for Leadership, which promotes public service and outreach, and recently co-authored a biography of the institute’s founder, Dr. J.W. Fanning. He is past president of UGA’s National Alumni Association and a director of the Richard B. Russell Foundation. Gov. Perdue recently appointed Regent NeSmith to the 20-member Commission for a New Georgia. He also serves on the board of directors of Athens First Bank and Trust, Southern Mutual Insurance Company and Pattillo Construction Company. Regent NeSmith is past president of the Georgia Press Association and former chairman of Leadership Georgia (1986). He is an emeritus member of the UGA Athletic Association’s board of directors and the UGA Foundation’s Board of Trustees. As chairman of Athens 96 for the four years leading up to the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, Regent NeSmith led Athens’ involvement in the games’ soccer, volleyball and rhythmic gymnastics events. He and his wife, Pam, have three children and live in Athens.
: Doreen Stiles Poitevint

Appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue in January 2004, Doreen Poitevint is a partner in Stiles Apartments and A.B. Stiles Enterprises in Athens, Ga. She currently serves on the Board of the Decatur County Library Foundation and is a past member of the Executive Committee of the Bainbridge College Foundation and the executive boards of the Decatur County Library and the Southwest Georgia Regional Library. A former teacher in DeKalb County and Decatur County, Regent Poitevint previously served as Public Education Chairman for the American Cancer Society, President of the Bainbridge Book Club and President of the Decatur County Friends of the Library. She also is a past Director and member of the Executive Committee of the Friends of the Library USA and served as a member of the Department of Technical and Adult Education Commissioner’s External Advisory Committee for Statewide Public Libraries. Regent Poitevint earned her undergraduate degree, a master’s degree in education and an education specialist degree from the University of Georgia. Regent Poitevint resides in Bainbridge, where she is a member of First Presbyterian Church. She represents the Second Congressional District on the Board of Regents.
: Willis J. Potts, Jr.

Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed Willis J. Potts of Rome to represent the Eleventh Congressional District on the Board of Regents. Potts retired in June 2004 as the Vice President and General Manager of Temple-Inland Corporation, based in Rome, following a 35-year career in the international pulp and paper industry. He began his career as an engineer at the Union Camp Corporation’s Savannah pulp and paper mill in 1969. He held a series of operational and management positions, including Resident Manager of Union Camp’s mill in Prattville, Ala., before being named General Manager and Senior Vice President of Union Camp in 1992. In 1999, following a 30-year career with Union Camp, Potts moved to the position he retired from at Temple-Inland. Potts served as President of the Paper Industry Management Association in 1995, and in 1999, the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry recognized his outstanding service to the industry by naming him a Fellow. In 2002, the Pulp and Paper Safety Association presented him with the Executive Eagle Award, conferred on outstanding paper industry executives who have made major contributions to the cause of accident prevention in his/her company and beyond. Potts also is active with the United Way, the Boy Scouts of America, Boys and Girls Clubs and Chamber of Commerce. He is Chairman of the mentoring program "Communities in Schools." Potts earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering with highest honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology and completed the University of Virginia’s Executive Program.
: Wanda Yancey Rodwell

Wanda Yancey Rodwell serves as Director of Communication for Coca-Cola, an appointment to which she was named in 2005. For five years, she was General Manager of corporate communications at Delta Air Lines, directing internal and external communications for the marketing division. Before joining Delta, she was Vice President of Public Affairs/Executive Director of the Henry W. Grady Foundation for the Grady Health System, the Southeast’s largest public hospital system. During this time, Rodwell was named one of “Georgia’s Most Powerful Women in Health Care Industry/Medicine” by Women Looking Ahead News Magazine. Rodwell began her career as a journalist, writing award-winning news reports for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, before transitioning into corporate communications at Cox Enterprises, the newspaper’s parent company. She serves as Chair of the Calvin A. Rodwell Foundation and DBR Enterprises, Inc., and is a member of numerous civic organizations, including the Economic Development Authority of DeKalb County, as well as numerous professional organizations. Rodwell was awarded the nation’s first full four-year Cox Enterprises Minority Journalism Scholarship, along with an Honors Program Scholarship from Spelman College, where she ultimately earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in journalism. Regent Rodwell resides in Stone Mountain. She represents the Fourth Congressional District on the Board of Regents.
: Kessel D. Stelling, Jr.

Regent Kessel D. Stelling Jr., who represents the Sixth Congressional District, is the president and chief executive officer of the Bank of North Georgia. He serves as chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, a trustee of Kennesaw State University and a member of the board of overseers of the University of Georgia Terry College of Business. He also is a board member of the Cobb Community Foundation, Wellstar Health Systems and a member of the Development Authority of Cobb County. Regent Stelling earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and a graduate degree from Louisiana State University. He and his wife, Carol, have two children and live in Marietta.
: Benjamin “Ben” J. Tarbutton, III

Ben Tarbutton is Assistant Vice President of the Sandersville Railroad Company, where he oversees daily operations, including maintaining the infrastructure, train transportation and customer service. He serves on the boards of directors for Sandersville Technical College, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Northwest Bank & Trust and on the Board of Trustees for Leadership Georgia. Regent Tarbutton is a past chairman of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, past president of the Sandersville Rotary Club and a past member of the Georgia Rural Development Council. He is a 2004 graduate of Leadership Georgia and a graduate of Leadership Washington County. He earned a bachelor’s degree in management from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue as the Twelfth Congressional District representative to the Board of Regents, Regent Tarbutton resides in Sandersville, where he and his family are active members of the Sandersville United Methodist Church.
: Richard L. Tucker

Richard L. Tucker was appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue to represent the 7^th District on the Board of Regents. He is the principal and managing partner of Arlington Capital LLC, a mezzanine lending fund. He is also principal in other business ventures involving investments, real estate development, and retail. Regent Tucker served as President and CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce from 1996-2003 and as its Chairman in 2005. He currently serves as Chairman of the Gwinnett Convention & Visitors Bureau, Chairman of the University System of Georgia Foundation and President of The 1818 Club. He is also a charter member of the Georgia Gwinnett College Board of Trustees. In addition, Regent Tucker serves on the Board of Directors of the Brand Banking Company, Medical College of Georgia Health, Inc., Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. Regent Tucker has been recognized four times by Georgia Trend magazine as one of Georgia’s 100 Most Influential Leaders and was selected as one of Gwinnett’s most influential leaders by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. In 2003, Tucker was honored by the Council for Quality Growth as its "Button Gwinnett Award" winner, Gwinnett’s most prestigious award. Regent Tucker is a former member of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) and the Governors Development Council. He received his undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Georgia. His principal residence is in Suwanee.
: Allan Vigil

Appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue, Regent Allan Vigil represents Georgia’s Third Congressional District. He is president and owner of Allan Vigil Ford in Morrow and Allan Vigil Ford in Fayetteville. He is a past chairman of the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association, the Metro Atlanta Automobile Dealers Association and the Ford National Dealer Council. Regent Vigil serves on the board of Southern Regional Hospital and the Board of Trustees of Clayton State University. He was named Hispanic Businessman of the Year by the Atlanta Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 1996 and has been named a member of Ford’s “One Hundred Club” and given Ford’s highest honor, the President’s Award, repeatedly. Regent Vigil was in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1970, and served as a First Lieutenant in Vietnam. He was awarded a Bronze Star and an Army Commendation Medal for his actions there. A native of Tampa, Fla., Regent Vigil received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Florida. He resides in McDonough.