New members named to American Studies Institute Advisory Board

February 20, 2009

New members named to American Studies Institute Advisory Board

SEARCY, Ark.—Ten new members will join 27 existing members on the American Studies Institute Advisory Board.

Blair Bryan is the managing director of Jones Lang Lasalle Americas, Inc., which is a leading global commercial real estate firm employing over 30,000 people. A class of '84 Harding graduate from Charlotte, N.C., Bryan assists clients with portfolio management.

Brant Bryan of Dallas, Texas, is a founding leader of the real estate financing companies CRESA Partners and Fairways Equities. He obtained a bachelor's degree from Harding in 1977 and a Master in Business Administration from Harvard University.

Byron Carlock serves as president and CEO of CNL Lifestyle Company, a real estate investment trust. He graduated from Harding in 1984 with an accounting degree and then from the Harvard Business School. From Dallas, Texas, Carlock is also a member of the Harding President's Council.

Dennis Leggett of Batesville, Ark., retired from Aerojet, which is an aerospace and defense leader. Aerojet has served the missile and space propulsion markets since 1942, and it is known for the development of new technology.

Topper Long is the retired president and CEO of Textron Engine Marine and Land Systems, a $400 million collection of three companies. Long has also authored Gullible's Travels, a book about the business world. He and his wife, Carole, divide their time between Gallatin, Tenn., and Valle Crucis, N.C.

Paul Maynard ('87) is a partner for Deloitte and Touche, in Minneapolis, Minn. Deloitte and Touche is an international corporation of independent firms, which provide audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management and tax consulting services to clients.

Lundy Neely serves as president and CEO for Crown Solutions. A resident of Vandalia, Ohio, he founded the company in 1984 as a modest water management company for regions of the state. The company now serves 22 states. Neely graduated from Harding in 1971 and also serves on the University's Board of Trustees.

Jeffry G. Tennyson of Charlotte, N.C., is the chairman and CEO of Equifirst Corporation. Equifirst was founded in 1990 as a mortgage-lending firm. A Harding alumnus, Tennyson graduated in 1984.

Jody Venkatesan of Laurel, Md., is a partner at Holloway & Co., PLLC. Holloway offers accounting and consulting services to all levels of government as well as the private sector. Venkatesan serves as Director of Information Systems Consulting for Holloway, and he graduated from Harding in 1996.

David Waldron, owner and contractor for Waldron Homes, lives in LaVergne, Tenn. He also serves as a director for Bank of the South. Waldron earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Harding in 1976.

The American Studies Institute is committed to learning more about and supporting principles that were key in founding America, such as the dignity of humans, freedom, liberty, courage, free enterprise, morality, integrity, faithfulness and democracy.