April 24, 1998 Contact: Adrienne Outlaw (615) 322-2706 a.outlaw@vanderbilt.edu

Vanderbilt University Board of Trust

elects three new board members

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -The Vanderbilt University Board of Trust elected three new members Friday during its spring meeting.

The new members are William W. Featheringill, John W. Johnson and graduating senior Michele Bitsis, who was chosen as the Young Alumni Trustee.

Featheringill is chairman of the board, president, treasurer and director of Private Capital Corporation, a venture capital investment company in Birmingham, Ala.

A 1964 graduate of Vanderbilt's engineering school, Featheringill also holds a J.D. and an MBA degree from Columbia University. He serves on several boards of directors including Citation Corporation, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Kirkwood by the River retirement community and Birmingham Museum of Art.

As immediate past president of the Vanderbilt Alumni Association, Johnson succeeds Jane Evans as an alumni trustee. From Houston, Texas, Johnson is chairman of Permian Mud Service, Inc., and its subsidiary, Champion Technologies, Inc., both oil field service companies.

Johnson graduated from Vanderbilt's engineering school in 1968. In addition to his numerous political and civic responsibilities, he is founding chairman of Houston's largest independent bank, the Southwest Bank of Texas, chairman of the Houston Museum of Natural Science and director of Weatherford Enterra, Inc. Johnson also serves on the Governor of Texas' Task Force on Charter Schools.

Johnson's wife, Ann Kimball, graduated from Vanderbilt with a bachelor of science degree in 1967. Two of their three children have also attended Vanderbilt. Their daughter Kimball graduated from the University with a bachelor of science degree in 1994 and their daughter Ruth is a junior at Peabody College.

Bitsis succeeds Young Alumni Trustee Will Ed Settle. From Houston, Texas, she is a human and organizational development major at Peabody College. As vice president of the Student Government Association, she coordinated fund-raising efforts for the renovation of the Sarratt Student Center. She has served for three years as a member of the Peabody Student Association, was a student representative of the Core Curriculum Committee, Interhall member and president of the West Hall. Bitsis has also served as vice president of chapter relations for Alpha Omicron Pi and as a member of the Kappa Delta Honor Society. She has earned dean's list recognition as well as the Commodore Award.

Vanderbilt set a national precedent in 1968 when the Board of Trust voted to elect a graduating senior to its membership each year. The students in the junior and senior classes as well as those from the most recent graduating class select their candidate for Young Alumni Trustee. The candidate is recommended by the Alumni Association to the Board of Trust for membership.

-VU-

Vanderbilt University is a private research university of approximately 5,900 undergraduates and 4,300 graduate and professional students. Founded in 1873, the University comprises 10 schools, a public policy institute, a distinguished medical center and The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center. Vanderbilt offers undergraduate programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education and human development, engineering and music, and a full range of graduate and professional degrees.

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