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January 10, 2008
Contact: Marilyn S. LeFeber, Vice President-Communications,
810.238.5651,
mlefeber@mott.org
Chancellor named to board of C.S. Mott Foundation
FLINT, Michigan – Charlie Nelms, chancellor of North Carolina Central University in Durham, has been elected to the Board of Trustees of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, effective Jan. 1, 2008.
He has headed that historically black school since Aug. 1, 2007. It is part of the 16-campus University of North Carolina system and has a student enrollment of more than 8,200.
“We are extremely pleased to have Dr. Nelms join our board,” Mott President William S. White said. “He has extensive experience in several of Mott’s fields of interest, and he knows our home community and our foundation. Throughout his exemplary career in higher education, he has demonstrated a deep interest in children and young people.”
Nelms served as chancellor and professor of education at the University of Michigan-Flint from 1994 through 1998. During his tenure, he balanced the school’s budget, reversed an enrollment decline, established the University Outreach Center and helped raise more than $75 million in private gifts and land.
His career in higher education began at Earlham College in Indiana (1973-77), where he rose to become associate dean for student development. Other experience includes associate director of the Center for Human Development and Education Services at University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (1977-78), associate dean for academic affairs at Indiana University Northwest (1978-84), vice president for student services at Sinclair Community College in Ohio (1984-87), and chancellor of Indiana University East (1987-94).
Nelms, a native of Crawfordsville, Arkansas, holds a bachelor’s degree in agronomy and chemistry from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He also holds two degrees from Indiana University -- a master’s in higher education and student affairs and a doctorate in higher education administration.
Nelms has been active in many professional, civic and higher education organizations during his career. He also has written a number of articles for professional publications.
He and his wife, Jeanetta Sherrod Nelms, have one son, Rashad, a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School who works with the U.N. World Food Programme.
There are now 14 trustees on the Mott Foundation’s board. Five are members of the Mott family.
The Mott Foundation, established in 1926 by an automotive pioneer, is a private philanthropy committed to supporting projects that promote a just, equitable and sustainable society. It supports nonprofit programs throughout the U.S. and, on a limited geographic basis, internationally. Grantmaking is focused in four programs: Civil Society, Environment, Flint Area and Pathways Out of Poverty. Besides Flint, offices are located in metropolitan Detroit, Johannesburg (South Africa) and London. The Foundation, with 2012 year-end assets of $2.28 billion, made 439 grants totaling $91 million. For more information, visit www.mott.org.
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