NEWS

Dr. Jesse L. White Jr., who has headed the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Southern Growth Policies Board, has been named director of UNC-Chapel Hill’s new Office of Economic and Business Development.

White spent the past year as an adjunct professor in UNC’s School of Government, where he specialized in economic development.

The new office matches UNC-Chapel Hill’s resources from the faculty and campus units with economic development issues. White also will serve as the principal spokesman for the university’s economic development activities.

Chancellor James Moeser said the new office would help the university more comprehensively address the state’s economic development needs.

"Jesse White is an ideal choice to lead this important activity as part of our commitment to serving the people of North Carolina," Moeser said. "I am confident that Jesse White will help connect ideas and resources from Chapel Hill with the lives of individuals and communities across North Carolina."

White, who started his new post last month, reports to Dr. Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for research and economic development.

"Jesse White’s 22-year career in economic development is a great match with Carolina’s expanding efforts to serve the economic development needs of North Carolina," Waldrop said. "We are pleased to be drawing from his considerable talents in establishing this important new office for the university."

White served as executive director of the Southern Growth Policies Board from 1982 to 1990 and as federal co-chairman of the Appalachian Regional Commission from 1994 to 2000. He worked to help revitalize both agencies in their work on regional economic development issues. He has been a private consultant in economic development and strategic planning.

"I have long been interested in the connection between higher education and economic development, and the contributions that this great institution can make to North Carolina are almost limitless," he said.

A native Mississippian, White calls North Carolina his adopted home state. He earned a bachelor’s degree in hisory and political science from the University of Mississippi and was that state’s first Marshall Scholar, graduating from the University of Sussex with a master’s degree in international relations. He holds a doctorate in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1990, he was a fellow at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics.

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Contact: Mike McFarland, 919-962-8593