News Release

Local angles: Charlotte, Scotland Neck, Rocky Mount, Wilmington

Photo: To download photos, see end of the release.

Schwab elected chairman
of UNC’s Board of Trustees

CHAPEL HILL — Nelson Schwab III, co-founder of the Charlotte-based merchant banking firm Carousel Capital, has been elected chairman of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees.

Trustees today (July 28) elected new officers to one-year terms on the 13-member board responsible for governing the university.

Jean Almand Kitchin of Scotland Neck, president and chief executive officer of Almand’s Drug Stores in Rocky Mount, who has served as the board’s secretary, was elected vice chair. Rusty Carter of Wilmington, president of Atlantic Corporation, a paper and packaging distribution company, was elected secretary.

A Carolina alumnus, Schwab was originally appointed to the board in 2001 and was reappointed to a term ending in 2009.

"I accept this honor with great humility and gratitude," Schwab said, after accepting the gavel from outgoing chair, Richard "Stick" Williams. "I enjoy working with each of you and am excited about what we can do together in the months to come.

"I also view this as another opportunity to give back to a university that has given me so much."

Schwab said his chairmanship begins with the university in a position of strength on which he and the board can build.

He identified five priority areas for the board in the year ahead: a continued focus on a high quality undergraduate experience, faculty retention, research competitiveness, athletic excellence and the funding model to support a great research university.

Since earning a bachelor’s degree in English from UNC in 1967 and a master’s of business administration from Wharton in 1972, Schwab has remained active at the university. He has served on the Board of Visitors for both the university and UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and serves on the university’s Carolina First Steering Committee.

On the Board of Trustees, he has served as chair of the audit and finance committee, which oversees budget and finance administration and makes tuition recommendations to the board.

Schwab co-founded the Charlotte investment firm Carousel Capital in 1996. One of the largest firms of its kind in the region, Carousel Capital invests in established Southeastern-based companies.

Kitchin joined the UNC board in 1999; her term ends in 2007. She has served as secretary since 2001. Kitchin graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors while earning her bachelor’s degree in education from UNC in 1970.

She has served on the university’s Board of Visitors and was recently named chair of the General Alumni Association’s Board of Directors. She serves on the Board of Trustees’ university affairs committee, which overseas issues related to academic programs, personnel, admissions and student financial aid, student services and student life and intercollegiate athletics.

Carter, who graduated from UNC in 1971, was appointed to the board in 2001. He is a member of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication’s Board of Visitors and has served on the Carolina First Campaign’s Steering Committee.

Carter, whose current term runs until 2009, has served on the trustees’ university affairs committee and audit and finance committee.

Williams, the board’s chairman since 2003, continues on the board until 2007. He lives in Huntersville and is vice president of diversity, ethics and compliance for Duke Energy Co. in Charlotte.

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Photo URLs: To download photos of Schwab, Kitchin, Carter and Williams, go to the following URLs:

www.unc.edu/news/pics/trustees/schwab_nelson.jpg

www.unc.edu/news/pics/trustees/kitchin_jean.jpg

www.unc.edu/news/pics/trustees/carter_russell.jpg

www.unc.edu/news/pics/trustees/williams_richard.jpg 

News Services contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 962-2093, lisa_katz@unc.edu