OΔK Alumni
Leaders with Impact
The Samford Circle, as part of its fiftieth anniversary celebration in 2001, recognized 50 Leaders with Impact who exemplify the values of OΔK and Samford. Samford alumni were invited to nominate individuals to be considered for the award. Additionally, the circle sought nominations from OΔK alumni. From these, members of OΔK selected the individuals to be recognized for their leadership, service and impact. They represent the best of all of us who are a part of the Samford community.
Lance W. Anderson '51
Ponce de Leon, Florida
International Business Executive and Entrepreneur; corporate executive, Chemstrand and Monsanto Chemical companies in the U.S. and Europe; founder, private venture in Africa
William C. Armistead, Jr. '66
Columbiana, Alabama
Political and Civic Leader; Alabama State senator; Alabama Legislator of the Year; Leader in Alabama business development
Hugh C. Bailey '51
Valdosta, Georgia
Educator and Civic Leader; President of Valdosta State University; former dean, Howard College of Arts and Sciences, Samford University
Walter G. Barnes '66
Birmingham, Alabama
Business and Community Leader; President, Insurance and Investment Consultants Incorporated; former basketball and track coach, Samford University; former vice-president, Alabama Baptist State Convention
J. Claude Bennett '54
Birmingham, Alabama
Educator and Entrepreneur; President and CEO of Biocryst Pharmaceuticals; former president, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Betsy Box '71
College Park, Georgia
Educational Entrepreneur and Social Pioneer; founder and director of Bedford School; champion of physically challenged children
Mark D. Branan '91
Greer, South Carolina
Community Entrepreneur; founder and president, Superior Displays; creator of scholarship programs
Kate Campbell '83
Nashville, Tennessee
Folk Singer and Composer; recording artist and songwriter, Compass Records
W. Andrew Collins '67
St. Paul, Minnesota
Distinguished Educator; Morice-Alumni Distinguished Professor, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota
William C. Dooley '78
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Pioneer Medical Researcher; director of the Institute for Breast Health and division director of Surgical Oncology, Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center; former professor, surgical oncology, John Hopkins University
Jean M. Finochio '95
Birmingham, Alabama
Community Leader; United Way loan executive; volunteer at Birmingham Museum of Art; volunteer for Art in the Park
J. Wayne Flynt '61
Auburn, Alabama
Historian and Author; Distinguished Professor, Auburn University; author of Dixie's Forgotten People and Poor but Proud
Michael W. Fountain '77
Tampa, Florida
Business Educator and Consultant, director of Entrepreneurial Studies, University of South Florida; consultant to the Kauffmann Foundation
S. Elizabeth Futral '85
New York, New York
Performing Artist of Excellence, head-line opera performer in the New York Metropolitan Opera and other leading companies
R. Kirby Godsey '57
Macon, Georgia
Educational Leader and Theologian, president of Mercer University; author of When We Talk About God, Let's Be Honest
James E. Gray '79
Birmingham, Alabama
Leader of Progressive Ministry, pastor, Hunter Street Baptist Church, Birmingham; former president of Alabama Baptist State Convention
Carol Guthrie '93
Washington, D.C.
Journalist and Political Spokesperson, press secretary, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden; former producer at NBC 13
Hoyt G. Harwell '53
Birmingham, Alabama
Dean of Alabama Press Corps, correspondent, Associated Press in Alabama for 41 years
Jack U. Harwell '53
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Religious journalist and Social Critic, former editor, Christian Index and SBC Today; advocate, women's rights and AIDS education
Gene Head, Jr. '95
Birmingham, Alabama
Business and Civic Leader; vice president, Headway Promotional Products; church elder; prison fellowship leader; Young Business Leaders of Birmingham
James T. Hickey '00
Birmingham, Alabama
Community Servant, police officer, Birmingham Police Department; church leader
Samuel Eugene Huckaby '63
Temuco, Chile
Missionary and Educational Pioneer; teacher and administrator, Baptist School of Temuco; career missionary in Chile
Samuel Todd Huckaby '86
Santiago, Chile
International Lawyer and Entrepreneur; partner, Investment Banking Partners; former investment banker, Goldman Sachs and Company
James L. Huskey
Bethesda, Maryland
Foreign Service Leader; deputy director, East Asian and Pacific Region Affairs, United States Department of State; community youth leader
Carolyn Ross Johnston '70
St. Petersburg, Florida
Educator and Scholar; professor of American Studies and history, Eckerd College; author of Sexual Power: Feminism and The Family in America and Jack London: An American Radical?
Samuel C. Ledbetter '81
New York, New York
Broadway Director; stage manager for the Broadway production of The Lion King
Wanda Lee '69
Birmingham, Alabama
Baptist Denomination Executive, president, Women's Missionary Union; former nurse, St. Francis Hospital, Columbus, Georgia
W. Randall Lolley' 52
Raleigh, North Carolina
Theological Leader and Minister; former president, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; former pastor, First Baptist Church, Greensboro, North Carolina
Harold E. Martin '54
Fort Worth, Texas
Media Entrepreneur and Journalist, former president, Jefferson Pilot Publications; Pulitzer Prize winner, 1970
R. Clayton McWhorter '55
Nashville, Tennessee
Pharmaceutical Entrepreneur and Philanthropist, chairman, Clayton Associates Venture Capital Company; generous benefactor of education
Eric L. Motley '96
Washington, D.C.
International Affairs and Political Scholar; assistant deputy director, Office of Presidential Personnel, the White House; student of ethics and foreign relations
Kevin C. Newsom '94
Alexandria, Virginia
Supreme Court Clerk and Legal Scholar; clerk for Justice David Souter, United States Supreme Court; former federal circuit court clerk
Susan Patterson '79
Herndon, Virginia
Performing Artist of Excellence, performer in leading opera houses in the United States and Europe
C. Laden Payne '55
Grass Valley, California
Educational Leader and Author; president emeritus, Randolph Macon University; author of Black Novelist and the Southern Literary Tradition
Jason R. Pierce '92
Scottsboro, Alabama
Legal Advocate and Protector of the Poor; assistant district attorney for
Jackson County, Alabama; president of Jackson County Coalition Against Domestic Violence
William S. Propst '61
Huntsville, Alabama
Pharmaceutical Entrepreneur and Business Leader; founder and president, Propst Pharmaceuticals, Vintage Pharmaceuticals and Qualitest Products
Claude H. Rhea III '76
Herndon, Virginia
Prison Ministry Executive, chief development officer-elect, North American Mission Board; vice president of Development, Prison Fellowship
Eldridge W. Roark, Jr. '55
Naples, Florida
Educator and Developer of Leaders, former national president, Omicron Delta Kappa; senior officer, State University of New York-Plattsburgh
Justin S. Russell '93
Barcelona, Spain
International Entrepreneur; principal partner, Goldberg and Kravitz; founder of businesses in the United Kingdom, Spain, South Africa and Australia
Janie L. Shores '68
Birmingham, Alabama
Distinguished jurist, retired Supreme Court justice of Alabama; legal consultant
Peter M. Sims '79
Birmingham, Alabama
Physician and Servant to Children, child and adolescent psychiatrist; volunteer, Rocky Ridge Elementary School
Anita Snell '63
Singapore
Secondary Educator and Missionary, missionary to Singapore; former principal of Country Day School, Orange Park, Florida
Jack A. Snell '63
Singapore
Minister and Missionary, pastor emeritus, Hendricks Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida; missionary to Singapore
Charles H. Talbert '56
Waco, Texas
Educator and Professor of Religion, Distinguished Professor of Religion, Baylor University; former professor of religion, Wake Forest University
Victor Terry '97
Gautier, Mississippi
Community Business Leader; agent, State Farm Insurance; Business Network International
William L. Turner' 60
Houston, Texas
Minister and Religious Leader; senior minister, South Main Baptist Church, Houston, Texas
Scotty de Jesus Utz '92
Hyattville, Wyoming
Social Entrepreneur and Adventurer; executive, Paint Rock Canyon Foundation; explorer of cultures
F. Neal Wade '69
Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Economic Developer; vice president for economic development, St. Joe Company; former president, Economic Development Partnership of Alabama
Ray C. Williams '66
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dental Educator; chair and professor, Department of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Charles R. Woods, Jr. '81
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Medical Educator and Leader in Pediatrics, director, Health Surveillance Unit Department of Health, Forsythe County, North Carolina; former professor, Department of Pediatrics, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University