HomeMy WebLinkAboutPowell, Wayne - BioWayne Powell, A&M Consolidated High School, class of 1968 Dr. Wayne B. Powell has been President of Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, NC, since 2002. Prior to his appointment as president,
Dr. Powell served Lenoir-Rhyne as vice president and dean for academic affairs since 2000. During this time the College has achieved record enrollment growth and unprecedented heights
in fund raising. Before that time, he served as dean (and earlier as associate dean) of the Graduate College at Oklahoma State University from 1992 to 2000. In that position, he was
chief administrator of the institution’s 4600-student graduate program. From 1980 to 2000, he was a professor of mathematics at Oklahoma State University where he taught and conducted
research in universal algebra, ordered algebraic structures, and abstract language theory. His research was recognized by grants from the National Science Foundation and NATO. He published
over 20 research articles in international journals and has presented invited lectures in 8 coun?tries. He authored a two volume book in calculus as well as a study guide for calculus,
and he is the editor of a research book on ordered algebraic structures. Dr. Powell has received numerous awards for his service, including over $2,000,000 in grants to support ethnic
minority students interested in science and mathematics. In 1997 he was awarded the Council of Graduate Schools highest national award, the Peterson’s Award, in recognition of his work
to support ethnic diversity in higher education. Dr. Powell received his bachelor’s degree in 1971 from Texas Lutheran College, where he majored in mathematics. He received his master’s
degree in 1973 from Texas A&M University, where he majored in mathematics and minored in computer science. He earned his Ph.D. in mathematics in 1978 from Tulane University.
Dr. Powell is a lifelong Lutheran and a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hickory, NC. His wife, Joyce, is actively involved in volunteer work in the community and sings in the
Hickory Choral Society. They have three children: Jennifer earned her Ph.D. in molecular genetics at the University of California, Berkeley, and now holds a postdoctoral research appointment
at Harvard Medical School; Kevin, a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University, is employed by Principal Financial Services in Des Moines as a software specialist; and Rachel, who is the
recent Valedictorian of Hickory High School. Rachel will attend St. Olaf College in the fall. Wayne’s personal interests, beyond time with family, center on outdoor activity. He is a
regular runner, including half-marathons. He enjoys hiking and any form of activity in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.