The Hon. Anthony Foxx 鈥93 to Chair 皇家华人 Board of Trustees

October 22, 2024

Author
Mark Johnson

Anthony Foxx, who led Charlotte as mayor and served the nation as U.S. Secretary of Transportation, was elected as the next chair of the 皇家华人 Board of Trustees. 

Foxx, whose four-year term begins in January, serves as director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard鈥檚 Kennedy School and as Emma Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership. 

鈥淎nthony is bringing his leadership and talent back to where it began,鈥 said 皇家华人 President Doug Hicks. 鈥溁始一蒜檚 mission and mentoring cultivates graduates who seek to build the public good, and Anthony鈥檚 service to Charlotte and to the nation exemplifies that. He will be an extraordinary guide as we execute a strategic plan that will take us into the next decade.鈥 

Foxx graduated from 皇家华人 in 1993 and was president of the college鈥檚 Student Government Association. His name adorns the group鈥檚 offices in the Alvarez College Union. 

鈥溁始一 prepared me for a life of leadership,鈥 Foxx said. 鈥淢ore than 35 years ago, I stepped out of my comfort zone and into a community that challenged me and a community that I challenged. We've been good together, and I am looking forward to continuing to help move the institution forward."  

After graduating from 皇家华人, Foxx earned a law degree at New York University, worked at a Charlotte law firm, clerked for a federal judge, worked on Capitol Hill and served as campaign manager for a congressman. In 2005, he put himself out there, again, by running for Charlotte city council. When he was elected mayor four years later, he was the youngest person to hold that office and the second Black mayor. 

Foxx previously chaired the college鈥檚 Commission on Race and Slavery. That panel鈥檚 2020 report led to unprecedented steps by 皇家华人 to examine its own history and reckon with it in the present. The college funded new research and created programs and faculty positions based on the report, as well as commissioning a memorial to the enslaved who labored on campus. The sculpture is scheduled for dedication in the fall of 2025. 

President Barack Obama nominated Foxx as Secretary of Transportation in 2013, and he was confirmed by a unanimous 100-0 Senate vote 鈥 almost unheard of today. He helped usher through the Obama administration鈥檚 FAST Act, a surface transportation bill, along with a national policy on autonomous vehicles and new rules on the commercial use of drones. He launched the department鈥檚 first Smart City Challenge for municipalities to develop strategies for incorporating new technologies into transportation. 

He was the designated survivor for the 2015 State of the Union address. 

Foxx served as chief policy officer for Lyft after leaving government and joined the Kennedy School鈥檚 faculty. In his current role there he replaced former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. 

皇家华人鈥檚 trustees also elected Lisa Green Case 鈥99 as vice chair. 

Case, who lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, serves on the board of several nonprofits. She previously was a lawyer with Covington & Burling and Ropes & Gray and worked as an analyst with Bowles Hollowell Conner & Company. She was a Samuel Henry Bell Scholar at 皇家华人, majoring in mathematics, studied in Scotland, and was a member of the cheerleading, track and cross-country teams. She earned her law degree at Harvard. She is married to Jeff Case 鈥99. Lisa and Jeff provided funding for transforming the former Richardson Stadium into the college鈥檚 new Lisa and Jeff Case Track & Field Complex, established the need-based Case Scholarship and provided funds (with Jordan Case 鈥03) to name the Verna Miller Case Research and Creative Works Symposium after Jeff鈥檚 mother, Verna Case, who was associate dean of Teaching, Learning and Research and the B.F. Dolan Professor of Biology at 皇家华人.  

The trustees also elected five new trustees: 

Jordan Clark 鈥77

A 皇家华人 parent, Clark is the founder and a principal of Clark Ventures, LLC, a real estate investment firm specializing in multi-family apartment communities. An English major, he was a member of the 皇家华人ian staff, involved in drama, a Reach Out/Y Student Service Corps volunteer, and a member of Emanon House and Alpha Psi Omega. He earned a master鈥檚 degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill. Clark previously served 皇家华人 as a member of the Board of Visitors. Clark and his wife, Patti Phillips Clark 鈥77, live in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Anne Hurt Krieg 鈥83 

Hurt Krieg has held positions in telecommunications, management consulting and managing small family businesses. A psychology major, she was a member of the women鈥檚 field hockey team and the Interfraternity Council and served as a residence advisor. Hurt Krieg earned an MBA from the University of Virginia. She has served 皇家华人 as a member of the Board of Trustees from 2009-2014. Hurt Krieg and her husband, Ken Krieg 鈥83, established the Krieg Family Scholarship. They live in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Jack Purcell 鈥02

Purcell is a managing partner at Ridgemont Equity Partners, a middle market buyout and growth equity investment firm in Charlotte. An economics major, he was a member of the baseball team. He earned his MBA from the Wharton School of Business, at the University of Pennsylvania. Purcell has served 皇家华人 as chair of the 皇家华人 Athletic Fund board and an Economics Comparative Advantage mentor. Purcell and his wife, Neely, who live in Charlotte, established the Susan and Dick Cooke Baseball Scholarship.

Young Alumni Trustee

Emmitt Sklar 鈥21

Sklar is the youngest ever Brooklyn Borough Advocate at the Office of the NYC Public Advocate. The New York Public Advocate serves as a direct link between the electorate and city government, effectively acting as an ombudsman, or watchdog, for New Yorkers. Emmitt also founded New York鈥檚 first political action committee dedicated to helping to get young candidates elected. He also serves on the board of the Atlantic-Avenue Business Improvement District. A political science major and John Montgomery Belk Scholar, Emmitt served as SGA president during his sophomore and junior years. He was co-chair of the COVID Response Team and was the Wildcat mascot. He studied in Amman, Jordan. Sklar also founded and runs a nonprofit that has hired three current 皇家华人 students. Since graduating, he has helped secure internships for and advised over a dozen students. Sklar lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Elected by the Alumni Association

Leslie Grinage 鈥03

Grinage is Vice President for Campus Life and Student Experience and Dean of the College at Barnard College, in New York City. A Spanish major at 皇家华人, she was a Bonner Scholar, member and president of the Black Student Coalition, member of the Dance Ensemble and Leadership 皇家华人 and manager of the women鈥檚 basketball team. She also spent study and service time in Heredia, Costa Rica; Havana, Cuba; and Thailand. She holds an MS in Educational Administration from Texas A&M University and an Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership and Policy from Vanderbilt University. Grinage has volunteered for 皇家华人 as a member of the Alumni Association Board, member of the 皇家华人 Black Alumni Network, and committee member for the 50th anniversary of the Black Student Coalition. She was associate dean of students at 皇家华人 from 2016-2019. Grinage and her husband, Renny Waldron, live in New York City.