91�Թ��

Board of Trustees

The governing body of 91�Թ��, the board of trustees, is responsible for upholding the mission and vision of the university.

Leadership

Gabi Kelly — Gabi Kelly '01
Assistant Secretary
Charlotte, NC
Executive Search Consultant, Coleman Lew Canny Bowen

Mickey Payseur '73 — Mickey Payseur '73
Chair
Cherryville, NC
CPA

Janie Peak — Janie Peak '73
Secretary
Gastonia, NC
Retired High School Teacher, LR Education Department

Hunt Shuford
Vice Chair
Hickory, NC

Boyd Wilson — Boyd Wilson ’74
Treasurer
Hudson, NC

Members

Perrell D. Bess — Perrell D. Bess, '06 JD '16
Weddington, NC
Vice President of Compliance and Operational Risk, Bank of America

The Rev. Dr. Eric Childers — The Rev. Dr. Eric Childers
Charleston, SC
Senior Pastor, St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church

Rob Fritz ’76 — Rob Fritz ’76
Boone, NC
Retired from Pfizer

Samantha Howell — Samantha Howell ’90
Conover, NC

Tammy Ice — Tammy Ice ’95
Wake Forest, NC

Margaret Jackson — Margaret Jackson ’69
Newton, NC
Business Owner (retired)

Jearld Leonhardt — Jearld Leonhardt '69
Newton, NC
Retired EVP and CFO of CommScope, Inc.

Dr. Summer McGee — Dr. Summer McGee
Hickory, NC
President, 91�Թ��

Stephen Misenheimer — The Rev. J. Stephen Misenheimer ’76 LTSS ’82
Knoxville, TN
Retired Lutheran Pastor

David Moore — David Moore ’76
Hickory, NC

Isaiah (Ike) F. Oglesby — Isaiah (Ike) F. Oglesby ’91
Greensboro, NC
Broker/Owner, Oglesby Realty

Chris Peek — Chris Peek
Gastonia, NC
President and CEO CaroMont Health

Frank Surface — Frank Surface ’85
Gainesville, VA

Michael Thomas — Michael Thomas, JD
Hickory, NC
Partner: Patrick, Harper, Dixon

Christopher Webb — The Rev. Christopher D. Webb ’93 LTSS ’97
Hickory, NC
Senior Pastor, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

Ex Officio Membership

The Rev. Dr. Rachel Connelly
LTSS Advisory Chair

Bishop Emily Hartner — Bishop Emily Hartner, Ex-officio
NC Synod, ELCA

Summer McGee — Dr. Summer McGee
91�Թ�� President

News & Events

Pastor Vern, framed by congregation, reads during chapel service

Five questions with Pastor Vern

Interim university pastor Vern Kinard, M.Div. ’18, talks about finding his way back to Lenoir-Rhyne, creating a place of belonging, and the connections between music, faith and community.

Kevin Miller stands under an LR banner on the quad with his motorcycle

Mapping a route to entrepreneurship

Kevin Miller ’26 turned his love of riding in Western North Carolina into an entrepreneurial venture — with help from LR and a shot at $30,000 in a statewide startup competition.