Blue Picked As Duke’s Next BOT Chair

You can be certain the people who control Duke University's board of trustees have settled on current board co-chair Dan Blue as the board’s next chair because The Chronicle reports today:

Dan Blue will likely be named chair of the Board of Trustees at the body's May meeting, according to an official with knowledge of the situation who wished to remain anonymous.

The anonymous source no doubt used TC for a planned leak approved by the people who selected Blue.

TC’s story will put an end to most speculation concerning current chair Bob Steel’s successor and give the Duke community plenty of time to digest today’s news before commencement weekend.

The Chronicle story continues:

Blue, Law '73, would be the Board's first black chair.

The Board will formally elect its chair at its May meeting. Current Chair Robert Steel, Trinity '73, will retire in June.

A lawyer and member of the N.C. House of Representatives, Blue currently serves as the co-vice chair of the Board of Trustees along with Richard Wagoner, former General Motors chief executive officer. Blue was elected to the Board of Trustees in 1995, and his term expires in 2011. Wagoner's term expires in 2013.

Ascension by a vice-chair has been common in recent years. …

Blue would be the second North Carolina native in a row to be named chair; Steel grew up in Durham just off East Campus. Blue went to college a few miles away, graduating from North Carolina Central University in 1970 and from the Duke University School of Law in 1973.

The men's politics also might be similar: Federal Election Commission records show that Steel donated to Blue's Senate campaign in 2002. Steel also donated to Blue's opponent, Erskine Bowles, to whom he lost in the primary.

Despite their common Carolina roots, Steel and Blue's backgrounds diverge from there. Steel comes from the corporate world, residing in Connecticut and having served as Treasury undersecretary and as CEO of Wachovia while chair of the Board. Blue is based in Raleigh, and he is a Democratic member of the North Carolina state House of Representatives and a partner at Blue, Stephens & Fellers law firm.

For three years after his law school graduation, Blue worked in the law offices of former Duke president and Gov. Terry Sanford. In his three decades in politics, he has worked for financial solvency and put safeguards in the state budget as speaker of the N.C. House. …

TC’s entire story’s here.

Blue was one of the eulogists at President Sanford’s funeral. You can read his tribute here.

And here’s a link that will take you to a short, 2007 Duke Invests in Talent profile of Blue.

Folks, what do you think of Blue's selection?