Elections of new regents by the University of the South’s Board of Trustees took place on Oct. 8, 2020. Those nominated by the regents and confirmed by the trustees to serve on the Board of Regents are O.B. Grayson Hall Jr., Mary Claire Shipp Murphy, and Charles Lambert (Bert) White III.

Grayson Hall, C’79, is the retired chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Regions Financial Corporation. He serves on the corporate boards of Vulcan Materials, Alabama Power, and Great Southern Wood. He serves on the civic, community, and educational boards of the Newcomen Society of Alabama, the National Christian Foundation of Alabama, the University of Alabama President’s Council and the Business School Board of Visitors. He previously served on the boards of the Birmingham Business Alliance and the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama. In 2016 he was the Babson Center Bryan Viewpoints speaker and participated as a panelist at Smith Career Day in 2012.

Mary Claire Murphy, C’82, is the executive director of Washington operations in the D.C. office of Textron, Inc. She is the former special assistant and director of protocol to the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and assistant chief of protocol, U.S. Department of State. She previously served as an executive at the United States Telecom Association and the Cellular Telecom Industry Association. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Military Child Education Coalition, the National Aeronautic Association, the Atlantic Council, and the Textron Charitable Trust. Mary Claire is the mother of Mary Carlton “M.C.” Murphy, C’17, and Sarah Virginia “Ginnie” Murphy, C’21.

Bert White, C’91, is regional director, Florida Region, at Raymond James & Associates. He is a former managing director at Morgan Stanley. He currently serves on the boards of the Bethesda Hospital Foundation and the Florida Securities Dealers Association. He is a former Associated Alumni trustee and is a current at-large member of the Regent Investment Management Committee.

The Board of Regents also recognized regents whose terms were ending. Montague L. Boyd IV (Atlanta, Ga.) and Katherine J. Nielsen (Birmingham, Ala.) have completed their six-year terms as regents and were recognized for their service.