University of Alabama System Board of Trustees Complete Again After Friday Election

The University of Alabama System of Board of Trustees is back at full strength after unanimously electing a sixteenth member Friday.

As the Thread previously reported, the Board lost a longtime member when Jim Wilson died earlier this year.

Get our free mobile app

The 16-member board is made up of the Governor, three members from Tuscaloosa's congressional district and two members from each of the other six congressional districts in the State of Alabama.

Wilson was one of the representatives from the Third Congressional District, and on Friday, the Board unanimously elected business leader J. Steven Ray to fill the vacant seat.

According to a Friday press release, Roy lives in Alexander City and has 40 years of business experience and financial expertise. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in accounting.

"After beginning his career with Ernst & Young in Birmingham, he spent over two decades as chief financial officer of two Alabama-based companies – Movie Gallery, Inc. and AAA Cooper Transportation," UA said in a release.

“The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees is pleased to welcome Steve Roy as our newest member,” said Board of Trustees President Pro Tempore Scott Phelps. “I look forward to working with Steve and am confident that his meaningful professional and board experience will benefit the UA System greatly as we continue to advance our mission to serve the citizens of Alabama and beyond.”

Roy has big shoes to fill after Wilson's 20 years on the Board.

“The opportunity to serve alongside my distinguished colleagues on the Board, Chancellor St. John and the multitude of talented individuals across the UA System is certainly the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Roy. “I am excited to play an active role in the Board’s unwavering commitment to fostering the world-renowned success of the UA System in the areas of education, healthcare, research, technology and workforce development for future generations.”