The Board of Trustees has elected three new members, the University announced on March 3: businessman Andrew W. Evans (88C) and two Methodist bishops, Bishop David W. Graves (90T) and Bishop L. Jonathan Holston.
The addition of Evans, Graves and Holston brings the total number to 40 out of 45 permitted active trustee members, five of whom are bishops affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
Trustees serve six-year initial terms, after which they can be renewed for four-year terms. Established in 2015, the Board ”governs the university by establishing policy and exercising fiduciary responsibility for the long-term well-being of the institution.”
Evans graduated from Emory with a bachelor’s in economics and later participated in the Booth/Kellogg program and CEO Perspectives. He joined Southern Company Gas, a gas and electric utility holding company formerly known as AGL Resources, in 2002. After serving in multiple positions, including president and chief executive officer of Southern Company Gas, Evans became executive vice president and chief financial officer of Southern Company in 2018. He also serves on the energy advisory council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Graves obtained his master’s of divinity degree from the Candler School of Theology. He served as an ordained pastor for the United Methodist Church for over 28 years in Tennessee, including being superintendent of the Kingsport District and senior pastor for the Ooltewah United Methodist Church. He was appointed resident bishop of the church’s Alabama-West Florida Conference in 2016 and afterward helped form the Bishop’s Response Team that supports congregations in this conference during times of crisis.
Holston earned a master’s of divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center, Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta. Following his time as superintendent in the Atlanta-Decatur-Oxford District and senior pastor of St. James United Methodist Church, he was elected to the episcopacy in 2012 and assigned as resident bishop of the South Carolina United Methodist Conference. He has visited 11 countries in Central America, Africa and Asia as a specialist on mission and relief trips.
The University did not respond to a request for comment by publication.
