Governor announces appointments to the W&M Board of Visitors
Kendrick F. Ashton, Jr. ’98, Ann Green Baise, Keith S. Fimian ’78 and John E. Littel will join Robert E. Scott J.D.’68 as appointees to the William & Mary Board of Visitors, Gov. Bob McDonnell announced today.
Ashton, a former star player on the Tribe football team and director of a global financial services firm based in New York; Baise, a former elementary school teacher and former Rector at Longwood University; Fimian, also a former W&M football star and a businessman in Northern Virginia; and Littel, an executive vice president with a national healthcare insurance provider, have been appointed as new members to the Board. They replace Janet M. Brashear ’82, Colin G. Campbell, Timothy P. Dunn ’83 and R. Philip Herget III, Hon.’12.
Scott, a law professor at Columbia University and former professor at the William & Mary Law School, was reappointed to a second term of four years.
“It’s wonderful that Bob Scott is returning to our Board of Visitors. He is playing a vital role,” said President Taylor Reveley.
“A warm welcome to the Board’s new members Kendrick Ashton, Ann Baise, Keith Fimian and John Littel. I look forward very much to working with them for the good of William & Mary. With new members, there is always the departure of those who have been serving. Saying goodbye is never easy. It is especially difficult this year because Janet Brashear, Colin Campbell, Tim Dunn and Phil Herget have each contributed so enormously to the work of the Board and the life of the university. They leave with our profound gratitude.”
Board members are appointed to four-year terms beginning July 1, 2012.
Kendrick F. Ashton, Jr.
Ashton, of New York, majored in international relations at William & Mary. Since graduation, he has stayed connected to the university, including serving as a member of the William & Mary Foundation Board of Trustees. In 2008, he served as chair of the reunion committee for the Class of 1998.
A four-year letter winner on the Tribe football team, Ashton finished his playing career by earning all-conference honors at cornerback in 1997. He was also a key contributor on the team's 1996 Yankee Conference Championship squad, playing alongside Tribe great Darren Sharper to form one of the nation’s elite defenses at the time. On campus, Ashton was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the Black Student Organization and the African-American Male Coalition. In 1998, he received the Benjamin Stoddart Ewell Award in recognition of his campus leadership and academics.
Ashton went on to receive his MBA and J.D. from the University of Chicago. Prior to joining Perella Weinberg Partners, Ashton was an investment banker in the Industrials and Natural Resources Group of Goldman Sachs & Co.
Ann Green Baise
Baise, of Falls Church, Va., serves as treasurer of Baise Farms, a corn and soybean operation in Illinois and Vermont.
Baise comes to the Board with several years of experience in a similar position. She served on the Board of Visitors at her alma mater, Longwood University, from 1996 until 2004. During that time, she was elected three times as Rector of the Board. She also served as chair of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee and Chair of the Nominating Committee.
Baise earned her undergraduate degree in elementary education from Longwood and a master’s degree in education from Virginia Tech. Previously, she served as an elementary school teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools and later as an educator and program director of the district’s gifted and talented programs. She has also served as a consultant to the National Geographic Society and the National Wildlife Federation. In 2000 and 2002, she was named the Columbia Hospital for Women Volunteer of the Year.
Keith S. Fimian
Fimian, of Oakton, Va., majored in accounting while at William & Mary and played on the Tribe football team. Following graduation, he was signed as a free agent by the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.
Fimian currently serves as chairman and CEO of U.S. Inspect. The company, based in the suburbs of Washington D.C., provides residential, corporate and commercial property inspections in all 50 states. Prior to founding the company in 1986, he worked for seven years with the international accounting firm KPMG Peat Marwick.
Fimian has also been involved in a number of civic organizations, including serving as president of Washington, D.C.’s Youth Leadership Foundation, which serves disadvantaged youth.
At W&M, Fimian was a fullback on the football team and co-captain during his senior season. In the 1976 season, he rushed for a career-high 703 yards and eight touchdowns – including a 164-yard performance in the team’s 14-0 win at Virginia. He also was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, the William & Mary Choir, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Accounting Club.
John E. Littel
Littel, of Virginia Beach, is executive vice president for external relations at Amerigroup, a national health insurance company that serves approximately 2.2 million members in 13 states. As executive vice president, Littel is responsible for the company’s growth and business development, including government and community affairs, initiatives, sales and marketing, e-business and corporate communications. He also serves as chair of the company’s charitable foundation.
Previously, Littel served in a number of senior positions in state and local government, including serving as the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Resources. On the federal level, he served as the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Littel previously served on the boards of the Family and Children’s Trust Fund, Virginia’s family violence prevention agency, and For Kids, a program for homeless families in Norfolk. He currently serves on the Board of Advisors for W&M’s Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy.
Littel earned his undergraduate degree in philosophy and political science from the University of Scranton and his law degree from The Columbus School of Law at Catholic University.
Robert E. Scott
Scott, of New York, is the Alfred McCormack Professor of Law at Columbia University. He received his law degree in 1968 from the William & Mary Law School, where he served as editor-in-chief of the William & Mary Law Review. He also taught at the Law School before joining the faculty at the University of Virginia School of Law in 1974. He taught there until 2006, serving as the school’s dean from 1991 to 2001.
Scott is known nationally as a scholar in the fields of contracts, commercial transactions and bankruptcy. He served as president of the American Law Deans Association from 1999-2001, and in October 2004, he was presented the Thomas Jefferson Award, the highest honor granted by the University of Virginia. Scott received his undergraduate degree from Oberlin College.
Scott was appointed to the Board in 2008 and currently serves as chair of the Board’s Committee on Strategic Initiatives. He also serves as vice chair of the Committee on Academic Affairs and is a member of the Committee on Financial Affairs.
