James H. Sanford

James H. Sanford – Chairman, is chairman of the board of HOME Place Farms, Inc. and is a fourth-generation cotton producer whose great-grandparents began operations of a cotton farm in 1881. Sanford received a BS in business administration in 1968 and an MS in economics in 1971 from Auburn University. He is affiliated with many organizations, including the Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce, Autauga County United Way and various advisory boards with Auburn University.

Steven E. Taylor, PhD, PE, Fellow ASABE

Steven E. Taylor, Ph.D., P.E., Fellow ASABE, serves as Auburn University’s senior vice president for research and economic development. In this role, he provides leadership to various research and economic development units, including Sponsored Programs, Proposal Services and Faculty Support, Contracts and Grants Accounting, Research Compliance, the University Veterinarian, Research Security Compliance, Electronic Research Administration, the IP Exchange, External Engagement and Support and university-based start-ups.

Taylor previously served as interim dean of Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, as the College of Engineering’s associate dean for research, head of the Department of Biosystems Engineering—where he is a tenured professor—and as director of the Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts.

As the Ginn College of Engineering’s associate dean for research, Taylor led significant growth in the college’s annual external funding that saw nearly $300 million in new research contracts awarded during the past five years. During this period, he facilitated the creation of the Auburn University Applied Research Institute and Auburn University Transportation Research Institute, and he helped secure funding for several new research facilities such as Auburn’s Advanced Structural Engineering Laboratory. Additionally, he led the efforts to acquire and operationalize the university’s Research and Innovation Campus in Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park.

Taylor holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural engineering from the University of Florida and a doctorate in the same discipline from Texas A&M.

Bill Ham Jr.

Bill Ham was elected to the Auburn City Council in 1986 and then served as the city of Auburn’s mayor from 1998-2018.  Ham, an Auburn native and 1977 graduate of Auburn University, is owner of Varsity Enterprises, LLC.   Ham  serves on numerous community and university boards including The Gouge Performing Arts Center, East Alabama Community Foundation, Auburn Bank Board and the Industrial Development Board for the City of Auburn.

Mayor Ron Anders, Jr.

Mayor Ron Anders, Jr. was elected in October 2018 to serve as Auburn’s new mayor, stepping into the position held for 20 years by former Mayor Bill Ham, Jr. After six years on the Auburn City Council and years of service to the community, Mayor Anders was sworn into office in early November 2018.  Since 2015, Anders has served as the director of special projects for Tailgate Guys’ Auburn Crew. He previously served 20 years as the CEO of Anders Bookstore, a small, family-owned business that was established on Magnolia Avenue in 1966. A multigenerational venture, Anders grew up working in the store with his father and grandfather. He took over as owner and operator until the business was sold in 2005.  A lifelong resident of Auburn, Anders has been an active member of the community and an ardent supporter of youth athletics. He has served as past chair, past president, past director and past board member for a number of civic, community, recreation and charitable organizations including: the Auburn Chamber of Commerce, Auburn Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Lee County and Child Advocacy Center. Anders is a 1982 graduate of Auburn High School and a 1986 graduate of Auburn University.

Greg Barker

Greg Barker was named president of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama in June 2020. Barker came to EDPA from Alabama Power Company, where he started in 2002 as an economic development project manager and was later named vice president of Economic and Community Development. He also held positions as senior vice president, Business Development and Customer Support, senior vice president, Marketing and Economic Development and executive vice president, Customer Services. Barker’s career has also included experience in local and regional economic development, serving as president of the Calhoun County Economic Development Authority and as executive vice president of the Metropolitan Development Board in Birmingham. Greg graduated from Mississippi State University, where he was named an Alumni Fellow of the College of Arts and Sciences in 2018. He also attended the Institute for Organizational Management at the University of Georgia and the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma. He is a member of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC), the Utility Economic Development Association (UEDA), and the Economic Development Association of Alabama (EDAA). He also serves on the boards of directors for Opportunity Alabama, the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Council, the Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Innovation Depot. He is a 2008 graduate of the Leadership Alabama program.

Chris Crumbly

Chris Crumbly, joined the Von Braun Center for Science & Innovation in January 2018 as its Executive Director.  After a 25-year career at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Mr. Crumbly retired and entered the business community.  Mr. Crumbly was most recently the Vice-President for Business Development, Civil and Commercial Space at Teledyne Brown Engineering.  While at NASA, Mr. Crumbly managed the Space Launch System (SLS) Program’s Spacecraft/Payload Integration and Evolution Office, located at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Michael A. DeMaioribus

Mr. DeMaioribus currently serves on the Board of Directors of Davidson Technologies and PeopleTec, Inc., in Huntsville, AL.  He also provides board and executive level consulting to other local, high technology defense and aerospace firms through DeMaioribus Technologies LLC, and holds an active TS/SCI clearance.  Mr. DeMaioribus is a member of the Board of Trustees of Auburn University and is a member of the Advisory Council of the Charles D. McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security at Auburn University.  He has been inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.  He is also a member of the HudsonAlpha Foundation Board, the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville, a member of the Committee of 100 and a member of the Huntsville Rotary Club.  He is a former member of the Huntsville Botanical Garden Board and a former United Way of Madison County Board Chair.  

Mr. DeMaioribus retired as executive vice president of Dynetics in 2016, after a 39-year career.  He has extensive experience as a Defense and Aerospace contractor involved in high technology areas of Intelligence, Missiles, Aviation, Cyber, Space and Sensors. He was involved in growing Dynetics from 30 to 1500 people over his career, with increasing levels of technical, management and leadership responsibility in both the technical and business operations aspects of the business.

Mr. DeMaioribus holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Electrical Engineering from Auburn University along with additional graduate coursework in radar, signal processing, phased arrays and missile seekers.

Mr. DeMaioribus has lived in Huntsville since 1960 and is married to Leta Hornbuckle DeMaioribus.  They have four children and nine grandchildren.  

Robert W. Dumas

Robert W. Dumas is President and CEO of AuburnBank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. He joined the bank in 1984, began serving as a Director of the bank in 1997, and was elected President and CEO in 2001. He is an Auburn native and a 1976 graduate of Auburn University with a BS in Business Administration. He has served on numerous community boards and currently serves as an Auburn University Trustee representing the Third District-Lee County, AL. He is also a board member for East Alabama Medical Center and the Alabama Bankers Association as well as is a member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Thom Gossom, Jr.

Thom Gossom Jr. is an American actor, writer, and communications professional. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, he received his Bachelor of Arts in communications from Auburn University where he was the first black athlete in the Southeastern Conference to walk on, earn a full scholarship and graduate. Gossom furthered his education with a Master of Arts in communication from The University of Montevallo in Alabama. He is owner and President of Best Gurl Inc. a communications firm. Gossom’s career has spanned film, television and the stage. Gossom also writes a current events blog, “As I SEE It”. When not writing, producing or acting, Gossom is a frequent speaker for universities, corporation and civic organizations.

Laura D. Grill, RN, MBA

Laura Grill serves as president and chief executive officer of The East Alabama Health Care Authority. Her leadership responsibilities include the Authority’s two hospitals, East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika and East Alabama Medical Center – Lanier in Valley.

Laura currently serves as the legislative chairperson for the Alabama Hospital Association. She also serves on several other boards including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, the Business Council of Alabama, the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind Foundation, AmeriFirst Bank, and United Way of Lee County. She also serves on the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Endowment Committee and is an Auburn University Women’s Resource Advisory member. She has also served on the boards of Habitat for Humanity – Lee County, Affiliate and the Chamber of Commerce of Opelika.

Laura has served the Authority in various roles since June 1992. She received her Bachelor of science Degree in Nursing in 1984 from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a Master’s in Business Administration in 1990 from the University of Alabama.

Patrick T. Murphy, Jr.

Patrick T. Murphy, Jr., was named Vice President of Alabama Power Economic and Community Development department in April 2016. Murphy joined Alabama Power as senior project manager in November 2011. Prior to Alabama Power Company, Murphy was senior vice president of Economic Development for the Birmingham Business Alliance. He led all economic development recruiting, business retention and expansion efforts in the seven-county Birmingham metropolitan area. During his tenure with the Birmingham Business Alliance, Murphy worked with numerous Fortune 1000 companies across various business sectors, including aerospace, automotive, pharmaceutical, finance, technology and distribution. Murphy sits on the boards of directors for the Economic Development Association of Alabama, the Alabama Communities of Excellence Board, where he serves as President and Chairman, is a member of the Birmingham Kiwanis club, Birmingham Monday Morning Quarterback Club, BBVA Compass Advisory Board and “You Might Be” for Auburn Club. He is a graduate of Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. He lives in Birmingham with his wife and their four children.

Vini Nathan, PhD

Since 2011, Dr. Vini Nathan has served Auburn University as Dean and McWhorter Chair in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction (CADC). Dr. Nathan is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council (DFC). Jonas Salk, founder of the Salk Institute, and James P. Cramer, former CEO of the American Institute of Architects established the DFC to bring together leaders in design, architecture, construction and engineering for the purpose of identifying, exploring and advancing global trends, changes and opportunities in these and other design-related disciplines. On February 24, 2022, Dr. Nathan was named Auburn University’s interim provost and vice president for academic affairs effective March 7, 2022.  She succeeded Provost Bill Hardgrave.

Dr. Nathan is a member of the Board of Trustees at Saint Leo University in Florida. She is the current President of the US based Architecture+ Construction Alliance. For her nationally recognized service, dedication, and leadership in design education, Dr. Nathan was honored in 2014 with the silver medal of the Tau Sigma Delta. She is one of two individuals with no formal affiliation to Purdue (as an alum or employee) to serve on the Deans’ Executive Advisory Board for the College of Technology (now Purdue Polytechnic Institute) at Purdue University. In October 2018, Dr. Nathan was appointed by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey to serve on the Advisory Bord of the Alabama Trails Commission, for a four year term concluding in 2022. 

At Auburn, Dr. Nathan leads a team of some 80+ full time faculty, 40+ staff, and ~1700 students (undergraduate and graduate). She oversees an RCM influenced budget system with college annual revenues of ~$35M and college endowment of ~$25M. She continues to assert a significant role in elevating the academic reputation and visibility of the programs in the CADC, with one outcome being improved/higher and increased/more national and international rankings. She led the development of a custom graduate program for the US Army Corp of Engineers, a MS in Public Interest Design, a Bachelor’s degree program in Landscape Architecture, and a Ph.D. program in Building Construction. As an actively engaged Auburn University leader, Dr. Nathan chaired the Search for the Provost, is the senior ranking dean on the Auburn Budget Advisory Committee, and a board member of the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation. 

Dr. Nathan served as an Off-Site Reviewer for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission of Colleges (SACS-COC) specifically for the University of Texas-Austin, University of Houston, Florida A&M University, Emory University, University of Florida, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; and as an On-Site Reviewer for the University of Texas-El Paso. 

At the programmatic level, Dr. Nathan has chaired or co-chaired accreditation reviews for the Council of Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) of programs at the University of Georgia, the University of Oregon, the University of Cincinnati, Weber State University, University of 

Louisville, Ohio University, the University of Missouri, Indiana State University, Washington State University, Miami University, and the Institute for Art and Design Technology-Detroit. She also chaired or served on the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB) reviews of programs at the University of Texas-Austin, the University of California-Berkeley, Mississippi State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, North Carolina State A&T University, West Virginia University, and Chatham University. As a member of the American Council of Construction Education (ACCE) she participated in the accreditation reviews of Construction Management programs at Colorado State University, Arizona State University, and Purdue University. Dr. Nathan was one of two external reviewers of the Doctor of Design program at Louisiana State University. 

Prior to her current appointment at Auburn University, Dr. Nathan served as the Dean of and Professor in the School of Architecture at Jefferson University (formerly, Philadelphia University). There, Dr. Nathan led the development and implementation of two new graduate programs, in Construction Management and in Interior Architecture. As a curriculum consultant for Effat University in Saudi Arabia, she developed a three-track design program focusing on Environmental Design, Interior Design and Product Design. Similarly, Dr. Nathan developed and reviewed two programs, BFA: Interior Design and a BS: Design Management, for Berkeley College in New Jersey. 

Dr. Nathan served on the three person US accreditation team invited by the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) in Saudi Arabia to review the first architecture program for female students in the country (at Effat University), using NCAAA standards. More recently, in 2020, she served on the NCAAA accreditation review of the Interior Design Engineering program at Prince Sultan University; and she chaired the NCAAA accreditation reviews of the Interior Design programs at Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, Jubail University, Jazan University, and King Adbdulaziz University. 

Dr. Nathan has held teaching positions at Virginia Tech, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, New York Institute of Technology, and Jefferson/Philadelphia University. She has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in design studio, materials and methods, and design entrepreneurship and leadership. Her research interests include the relationships between chaos theory, design thinking and complex decision making. 

Dr. Nathan earned a Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of Michigan (1994), a master’s degree in Interior Design from Virginia Tech (1990), and a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Anna University (1988). She has completed focused professional development certificates through the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard School of Education. 

As an architect working for Walker Group/CNI in New York, Dr. Nathan collaborated with Cesar Pelli Associates on the design of the Kuala Lumpur City Center (Petronas Towers) in Malaysia (when it opened in 1996, it was tallest building in the world). 

Jim Odom

Jim Odom – Emeritus, was a consultant for Science Applications International Corporation at his last position. He began his career in the launch vehicle business with the Huntsville/von Braun Team, transitioning with this team to become NASA’s Marshall Flight Center. His many responsibilities at NASA included the Saturn, Apollo, Shuttle, and Hubble Space Telescope and last NASA position was Associate Administrator for Space Station. He retired from NASA in 1989 and has remained active in space research.

Paul M. Patterson, PhD

Dean, College of Agriculture
Director, Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
Professor, Agricultural Economics
Auburn University

A native of Alabama, Paul Patterson earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business and economics from Auburn University in 1985.  He then earned a master’s degree in agricultural economics from Purdue University.  Between 1987 and 1989, Patterson worked as a cotton economist for the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service in Washington, D.C.   In this position, he traveled with inbound and outbound cotton trade teams.  Patterson returned to Purdue University to pursue a doctorate in agricultural economics as a USDA National Needs Fellow.  He completed his doctoral studies in 1994.  From 1995 to 2009, Patterson was on faculty in the Morrison School of Agribusiness at Arizona State University, where he advanced through the faculty ranks to eventually serve as dean of the school.  As a faculty member, he provided leadership for the National Food and Agricultural Policy Project, a research project that provided economic analysis on the outlook for fruit and vegetable crops.  He worked with producer organizations in Arizona, California, and Mexico.  From 2009 to 2016, Patterson served as Associate Dean of Instruction in the College of Agriculture, Auburn University.  In 2016, he was appointed as Dean of the College of Agriculture and Director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station.  His research focused on international trade and agricultural marketing.  He is a co-author of five journal articles selected as the best article of the year in their respective journals.  He and his wife, Louisa, are the proud parents of five children and proud grandparents of three grandchildren.

Christopher B. Roberts, PhD

On February 4, 2022, The Auburn University Board of Trustees unanimously voted to select Dean Christopher B. Roberts of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering as the university’s 21st president. Roberts will begin serving on May 16. As the dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University, Roberts was responsible for the overall direction, scope, and mission of the college. Dr. Roberts is the former department chair and the George E. and Dorothy Stafford Uthlaut Professor of Chemical Engineering. Roberts began his career at Auburn in 1994 as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and became department chair in 2003. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Missouri and a master’s degree and doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

John G. Rocovich, Jr. JD, LLM

John G. Rocovich, Jr. JD, LLM is the founder of the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) and Chairman of its Board. Mr. Rocovich is an attorney and Chairman of the law firm Moss & Rocovich, Attorneys-at-Law, P.C. in Roanoke, Va. Mr. Rocovich has dedicated himself to his alma mater, Virginia Tech, and has held countless offices to assist in the enhancement of that university, including Chairman of its governing board. VCOM’s first campus is located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Park. Additional VCOM campuses have been built in Spartanburg, South Carolina, near Wofford College, on the University of Louisiana – Monroe Campus, and in the Auburn University Research Park. Mr. Rocovich is a graduate of Virginia Tech (B.S., with honors, 1966); University of Richmond (J.D. 1967); New York University (LL.M. in Taxation, 1968); Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (Doctor of Humanities and Letters, 2007); North Greenville University (Doctor of Christian Leadership, 2012). He is a member of the Bars of Virginia and The District of Columbia.

David R. Thrasher, MD

David R. Thrasher, MD, is a pulmonary and critical care physician in Montgomery, Alabama. He received a BS in fisheries biology and an MS from Auburn University. He received his MD from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has been involved with several early stage companies that eventually went public and sits on a venture capital board in Atlanta. He is also on numerous civic, as well as business boards and serves on the Judicial Inquiry Commission.