The Board of Trustees of Wayne Community College has bestowed its highest honor on three former members: Gwyndella Wilson, Tommy Cox, and Tommy Jarrett.
Wilson served 20 years in two stints: 1992-2000 and 2002-2014, as did Cox: 1994-1998 and 2000-2016. Jarrett was a member of the board from 1999 to 2015.
“I am extremely honored and humbled to make these presentations,” said Trustee Chair Veda McNair. “I have served beside each of these individuals and I have been inspired as a board member to do all I can personally to make Wayne Community College the flagship college of North Carolina and beyond.”
“Each has left a legacy of overwhelming support and leadership for the students, staff and faculty as Wayne Community College has soared to great heights. I can only hope that my fellow board members and I will follow the great example set by these three outstanding individuals,” McNair said.
She also quipped that although the three had officially completed their service, they “can never get away now” because “trustee emeritus means board member for life.”
All three served on various committees, as committee chairs, and in officer roles, including chair of the board, during their tenures.
The duties of the Wayne Community College board of trustees are to elect a president to the institution, to employ all other personnel to the community college, to purchase land that is necessary for the operation of the college, to apply the standards for admission and graduation of the students of the institution, to receive and accept donations given to the community college, and to provide all or part of the instructional services for the institution.
Trustees are appointed to four-year terms of office. Jarrett was appointed by the Governor of North Carolina. Wilson was named to the board by the Wayne County Board of Education and the Wayne County Commissioners. All three of those entities made Cox a trustee.
The criteria for trustee emeritus are eight or more years of service as a trustee, leadership on the board, involvement in community activities, and support for the mission, programs and constituents of Wayne Community College.
The college’s first nine trustees emeritus were named in 2000. They were Monroe Best, W. Powell Bland, Nancy W. Chase, Sam Hocutt Sr., Ralph Jinnette, Richard B. Moffatt, E. Demming Smith, Hal Tanner Sr., and George E. Wilson.
Bobby Rex Kornegay was the tenth in 2004 with 13 years of service, the most longevity until these three.
Plaques bearing the names of each trustee emeritus are displayed in a place of honor at the college. The trustees emeritus also enjoy the privilege of inclusion with the current trustees when they are listed in college publications and special invitations to college events.
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, the college serves around 12,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 70 college credit programs. WCC’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.