The Davis and Elkins College Board of Trustees announced today the appointment of two new members of the Board: Capt. Robert T. Gregory, USN, Retired, of Athens, GA and Bruce Lee Kennedy, II, a vice president and principal of D.F. Dent & Company, an investment counseling firm based in Baltimore, MD.
Robert Gregory graduated from D&E in 1959 and entered Navy Officers Candidate School, graduating in 1960. He served more than 27 years in the U.S. Navy, completing overseas tours on Barbados, WI and Guam. During his tour of duty as Supply Officer, USS William H. Standley, a guided missile cruiser, the ship deployed to the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam. In its deployment, the ship circumnavigated the globe. During his last active duty tour he served as Commanding Officer of the Navy Exchange Command in Jacksonville, FL, overseeing the management of 12 Military Department and 11 Commissary stores in a region from Charleston, SC, to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Following his retirement from active duty, Bob and his family resided in Athens, GA, where he worked for the University of Georgia and became District Military Representative for then Congressman Max Burns. He earned his MBA from the University of Georgia and later created Robert T. Gregory and Associates, LLC, which provides defense contract consulting services. He and wife, Mary, currently reside in Smyrna, Georgia, to be near their two young grandsons.
Mr. Kennedy brings a strong record of experience in the world of investments and finance to the D&E Board. Before joining D.F. Dent, he served as a summer analyst at Wasatch Advisors, an associate analyst at T. Rowe Price, and an investment banking analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Company. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Current Newspapers, Inc., a newspaper publishing firm in Washington, DC.
As a great-great-grandson of College founder Henry Gassaway Davis, Bruce Kennedy’s connection to Davis and Elkins College goes back to its very founding. His grandparents, John and Bruce Lee Kennedy, were the last owners of Graceland before it became part of the College in 1941. Bruce Lee was the daughter of Grace Davis Lee, for whom Graceland on the D&E campus is named.
Mr. Kennedy earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he served as co-chief investment officer of the Investment Club’s student-managed fund. He received his bachelor’s degree in History and Economics from Dartmouth College. He and his wife, Maggie, live in Baltimore.
Mr. Kennedy will serve on the Trustees Business and Finance Committee and the Investment Committee. Mr. Gregory will serve on the Student Life and Property Committees.
Persons elected to the Board provide insight and guidance to the planning and future direction of the College; help determine appropriate policies for effective governance and management; help assure financial stability through appropriate fiscal policies and controls; provide encouragement and support to the President, administration, faculty, staff, and students; provide and help obtain needed capital and operating funds; and encourage the interest and involvement of potential supporters of the College.
“We are very pleased to have these two gentlemen join us on the Board of Trustees,” said Board Chairman Paul Stirrup. “The breadth of their experiences and their commitment to the college are a great asset to Davis & Elkins College.”
Related to the Presbyterian Church (USA), Davis & Elkins College is located in Elkins, 2 hours east of Charleston, 3 hours south of Pittsburgh and 4 hours west of Washington, DC. For more information, please visit the College website at www.dewv.edu or call 304-637-1243.
