The Board of Trustees is the governing body of this College of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Bishops of the four ELCA synods related to the College (South Carolina, Southeastern, Florida-Bahamas, and Caribbean) are invited to attend meetings of the Board; one of the Bishops regularly serves as a Trustee. The Board may have no more than twenty-nine members. At least 50% of the Trustees shall be either members of congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America or graduates of Newberry College.
The President of the Newberry College Alumni Association Board of Managers, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Newberry College Foundation Board of Visitors, and the Chairman of the Newberry College Athletic Club Board of Advisors, serve as ex-officio members with full voting rights.
The President of the College, a representative of the Division of Higher Education and Schools, ELCA, and the Chair of the Faculty Council serve as ex-officio non-voting members of the Board.
Trustees, other than ex-officio members, are elected to three-year terms and shall be eligible for re-election to a maximum of three (3) full consecutive terms. Trustees who have served for nine (9) consecutive years (exclusive of any partial term) shall be eligible for re-election following a one-year hiatus. Officers of the Board must be members of the Board; the Board’s officers are elected annually and will be eligible to serve for a maximum of three (3) consecutive years.
The Board normally meets on campus two or three times each year in order to maintain first-hand contact with developments at the College and exercise its governance responsibilities.
Officers of the Board, 2025-2026
Lenna Young ......................................................... Chair
Kevin Steelman ..................................................... Vice-Chair
Mary Grate-Pyos ................................................... Secretary
R. Jonathan "Shot" Hart ........................................ Treasurer
Trey Castles ........................................................... Exec. Cmte. At-Large
Board Members Whose Elections Are From the Supporting Synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
South Carolina Synod
Patricia Pearson (2026) .......................... Isle of Palms, SC
Southeastern Synod
R. Jonathan "Shot" Hart (2026) ............................. Savannah, GA
Members-At-Large
(Terms Expiring 2026)
D.D. Boyd .............................................. Simpsonville, SC
Sylvester Coleman ............................... Greenwood, SC
Mark Hammond ................................... Spartanburg, SC
Jon Hart ................................................. Savannah, GA
Hap Pearce ........................................... Charlotte, NC
Patricia Pearson ................................... Isle of Palms, SC
Lisa Wagner .......................................... Pickens, SC
Lenna Young ......................................... Gilbert, SC
(Terms Expiring 2027)
Keith Avery ........................................... Clinton, SC
Trey Castles .......................................... West Columbia, SC
Mary Grate-Pyos .................................. Burke, VA
Kevin Raines ......................................... Chapin, SC
Jerome Singleton .................................. Irmo, SC
Kevin Steelman ..................................... Ridgeway, SC
Bill Steen ................................................ Greenville, SC
Joe Trainor ............................................. Prosperity, SC
Ned Tupper ........................................... Beaufort, SC
Erin Whitaker ........................................ Prosperity, SC
ELCA Representative
Lamont Wells ........................................ Executive Director of Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities (NECU)
ELCA Bishop Representative
Kevin Strickland ................................... Southeastern Synod ELCA Bishop
Ex-Officio
David Harpool, Transitional President of the College
Chair of Faculty Council (2025-2026)
Todd Sanders, Athletic Club
Matt Fogle, Alumni Board of Managers
Frank Snyder, Alumni Foundation
Faculty Representatives to the Academic Affairs and Honorary Degrees Committee
Barry McGinnis, Professor of Music (2026)
Honorary Life Members of The Board
James A. Gerding, D.C.S. ......................... Atlanta, GA
Dan B. Page .............................................. Fort Myers, FL
Michael E. Reid ........................................ Newberry, SC
John K. VanDuys, J.D. ............................. Columbia, SC
David L. Vorpagel .................................... Oviedo, FL
William P. Walker, Jr. ............................... Lexington, SC
Billye L. West ........................................... Newberry, SC
John C. Yates, J.D. .................................... Atlanta, GA
Bishops of Synods Supporting Newberry College
Ginny Aebischer .................................... Columbia, SC
Bishop of the South Carolina Synod, ELCA
Kevin L. Strickland .................................. Atlanta, GA
Bishop of the Southeastern Synod, ELCA
Pedro M. Suarez ....................................... Tampa, FL
Bishop of the Florida-Bahamas Synod, ELCA
Vivian Davila ....................... San Juan, PR
Bishop of the Caribbean Synod, ELCA