Message from the Dean

Our spring Executive Advisory Council (EAC) meeting is next week.  We engage our board members by utilizing their expertise and experiences in developing strategies to successfully meet our mission.  The EAC is one of eight advisory councils in the College.   

As with any dynamic organization, changes in membership occur.  This is true of our Council; three of our long-term members move to emeritus status this year.  At the same time, we welcome five new members to their first meeting.

Thomas Corcoran has served the Mitchell College Executive Advisory Council for many years.  An alumnus, he is the retired President of Fort Dodge Animal Health, one of the three divisions of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.  He remains active with the University as a member of the USA Board of Trustees and the USA National Alumni Association.  Tom Damson is another fixture on the EAC.  He recently retired as President of Long’s Human Resource Services, a family-owned Mobile business.  His daughter, Elizabeth Damson Freeman, assumed his position at Long’s.  Elizabeth also joined the EAC last year; we look forward to her council going forward.  Gil Dukes is a partner with Coale, Dukes, Kirkpatrick, and Crowley, a Mobile firm specializing in tax law, business law, and estate planning.  A past chairman of the Tax Section of the Alabama Bar Association, he is active on the boards of many Mobile entities.  We thank each of them for their service to the College.

Our new members bring a range of talents and experiences to our Council.  Jay Alexander is a general partner of Bright Star Capital Management in Jacksonville, Florida.  Bright Star Capital seeks excess markets returns from index option trading.  Before entering the investment industry, he spent twelve years in sales and management with Pfizer.  He is a graduate of the Mitchell College of Business.  Brian Kane is an owner and managing partner of Fairhope Brewing Company in Fairhope.  He was instrumental in bringing the craft brewing industry to Alabama.  He holds a law degree from the University of Alabama and worked with the Alaska state government in Juneau before returning to the South.  Kate Luce is Chief Operating Officer of Mississippi Export Railroad in Moss Point Mississippi.  The Mississippi Export Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in southern Mississippi.  She graduated from Auburn (BS-Logistics and Supply Chain) and holds an MBA from the Fuqua School at Duke.  Wendy Robertson is General Manager Operations at APM Terminals in Mobile.  APM Terminals is a global port services company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands.  She is actively involved with our students and is an USA alumnus.  Richard Weavil is principle and President of The Weavil Company, a full-service commercial real estate brokerage and development company in Mobile.  He currently serves as Chair of the Center for Real Estate and Economic Development (CREED) Advisory Board at the Mitchell College.  We look forward to their input and ideas going forward.