ACADEMIC PRIVATIZATION - Key Persons
Charles Bass majored in pre-law and mathematics at Wake Forest College. He began his career as an engineer with the state of North Carolina and as a MAI appraiser for the NC Highway Commission. In 1964 he began working for Stockton White & Co., rising to Senior Vice President in charge of commercial mortgage production and responsible for all non-residential construction lending. In this capacity, he was involved in the development and financing of over 8,000 apartments, acting as the direct representative of Metropolitan Life, New York Life, Penn Life and Columbia Mutual Life. In 1973, Mr. Bass was asked to join the parent company, First Citizens Bank, as Senior Vice President of Real Estate, reporting directly to the Chairman and Board of Directors, responsible for approval of all real estate collateral securing commercial lending in the southeastern US. Mr. Bass was elected President of Cameron Brown Real Estate Investment Trust, previously traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Job Titles:
- Director of Marketing
- Marketing Director
Ellen Braswell is a graduate of Georgia State University and has specialized in marketing professional services of firms that service the built environment including architects, engineers and development professionals. She has over 20 years of experience working with diverse public and private sector clients with a focus on higher education including privatized student housing. Prior to joining Academic Privatization, Ellen was Director of Development for Walker Parking Consultants, the largest parking consulting firm in the country. Ellen served as Marketing Manager for Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates (TVS), an internationally recognized planning, architecture and interior design firm. She has also served as Marketing Manager for Newcomb & Boyd, a mechanical, electrical, and special technologies consulting engineering firm.
Job Titles:
- Network Administrator / Web Development
Glenn Weaver majored in electrical engineering, economics and completed postgraduate work in finance at North Carolina State University. After serving as an aircraft commander at Dover Air Force Base and senior controller of the airlift command post reporting directly to 21st Air Force, he worked for a subsidiary of Davidson & Jones reporting to Keith Harrod. He was named president of Lincoln Commercial Realty, Inc. (now owned by the Jack Parker Corporation), followed by a term as president of North Boulevard Investments, Inc., developer of a 1,200-acre mini-city with 10,000 residents and an employment center for 5,000. He has played a major role in the development of over $200 Million of research and commercial facilities for tenants, including IBM, UPS, Allstate and other Fortune 500 companies. Glenn has served as a general partner and officer in over fifty entities doing business in the southeast. In January 1998, he completed lease execution for the first privatized development of housing on the UNC Consolidated System. He performed all ground leasing negotiations, initial predevelopment and financing for the North Shore Apartments on the campus of NCSU, which has many similarities to this proposal.
Job Titles:
- Director of Construction Management / Manager
Robert Sprouse is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA, in the study of Business Administration. He brings with him twenty five years experience in the field of project development and management. He has worked as Regional Real Estate Representative for Safeway Stores, Inc. in the Richmond area. He became the head of real estate development for Davidson & Jones, Inc., now a Beers company in Raleigh, NC. Mr. Weaver then asked Robert Sprouse to come with Lincoln Commercial Realty to develop office, warehouse and shopping centers. After three years Mr. Sprouse left to form a venture with Banks Kerr, owner of Kerr Drugs. From this position, Mr. Sprouse directed a group which created twenty shopping centers, four 150,000 SF research buildings for IBM and numerous other commercial properties. Mr. Sprouse is experienced in every form of real estate and corporate relationships. Mr. Sprouse took early retirement at 45, but later returned with Miller Construction company, a regional firm. He was responsible for several major projects on campuses, including speculative office buildings at NCSU Centennial Campus. Mr. Sprouse returned to work with Glenn Weaver and has performed development and construction management at SSU, NCSU, FSU, MSU and executive oversight for AP at UofL. He is also a licensed contractor and a real estate broker.
Job Titles:
- Counsel to the Board
- Member of the Wake County
William Mann joined Ragsdale, Liggett & Foley 1994 and is the head of the Real Estate Department. Mr. Mann practiced with Graham & James until March 1991, where he was a member of the firm's International Executive Committee.
Mr. Mann practices corporate law, with an emphasis on structuring and documentation for a broad variety of commercial real estate transactions. He also has extensive experience in structuring and financing multi-family residential projects, commercial and residential condominiums and representing nonprofit entities. Most recently, he has specialized in the formation of limited liability companies in the southeastern US.
Mr. Mann is a member of the Wake County, NC American and International Bar Association. He was a contributing legal editor for North Carolina Real Estate, by Bruce Harwood and William Gobble (Reston Publishing, Second Edition, 1983). He has also authored a manuscript entitled Value Billing and was appointed a member of the Alternative Billing Commission of the North Carolina Bar Association.