DFTD Board of Directors
John E. Craig, Jr., Chairman
John Craig graduated from Davidson cum laude in 1966, with a BA in economics. He earned his Masters in Public Affairs degree at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1968. For his service in Vietnam, 1968-79, he received from Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker the U.S. Department of State’s Citation for Heroic Service. He spent most of his career leading large private foundations in New York City, serving as chief operating officer and executive vice president of The Commonwealth Fund, 1981-2014. In retirement, he chairs the Lancaster County (SC) Society for Historical Preservation, operates the Lancaster Cultural Arts Center, and serves on the board of Lander University. Earlier, he was chair of the Investment Fund for Foundations and served on the Davidson Alumni Council board, the board of WDAV, and the Davidson Board of Visitors.
Constance Terry Buehler
Connie Buehler is currently the CEO of CTB1LLC, an international boutique talent/recruiting company. She previously worked at Capital One for 20 years as their first recruiter, building and training their credit talent. She was head of Human Resources & Talent for Harris Williams, a global investment bank, and Head of Partner Recruiting for the Americas for Oliver Wyman, a consulting company. At Davidson College, where she earned her BA degree in history in 1982, she founded and coached the girl’s lacrosse team, which is going strong today. She was a member of Rusk House and received the Outstanding Alumni Award for her 21 years of service as the Richmond Alumni Leader. She is most grateful for her Davidson education, which taught her that open discourse and shared ideas led to new and, at times, improved views.
Emily Koons Jae
Emily Koons Jae serves as director of the Fund for Academic Renewal at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), whose mission is promoting academic excellence, academic freedom, and accountability at America’s colleges and universities. Prior to joining ACTA, Ms. Jae served as the director of entrepreneur engagement at the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives in southeastern Pennsylvania. Before that, she worked for the Jack Miller Center, serving in a progression of roles on the organization’s academic programs, communications, and development teams. Ms. Jae received her B.A. in history from Davidson College in 2009. Based in Washington, DC, she is an avid reader and spends her time cheering on the Wildcats (both Davidson and Villanova) in college basketball.
James McNab
James McNab graduated cum laude from Davidson in 1966 (history/economics) and received his MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1968. After service in the U.S. Army, he spent 25 years in the oil and gas industry and then 25 years in biotechnology, focusing most recently on drug discovery in the field of oncology. He served on the Davidson College Board of Trustees, 1988-2004 and continues to serve on the Davidson Board of Visitors. He was a director of Coastal Conservation League and the Preservation Society of Charleston, SC, and is on the board of Ashley Hall.
Ross W. Manire
Ross Manire is a 1974 graduate of Davidson College (economics) and received his MBA from the University of Chicago (accounting and finance) in 1976. He is founder of ExteNet Systems, Inc., of which he was president & CEO 2003-2018. He is on the board of The Andersons, Inc., Zebra Technologies Corp, Quicket Solutions, Inc., Vivacity LLC and Hellen Systems, Inc. In the past he held top positions at Flex Ltd. subsidiaries, was CEO of Chatham Technologies, Inc.(acquired by Flex Ltd.), Chief Financial Officer & SVP-Operations at US Robotics Corp., was a partner at Ridge Capital Partners LLC and a partner at Ernst & Young LLP. He served on the board of trustees of Davidson College from 2000 to 2008.
James G. Martin
James G. Martin served as governor of North Carolina from 1985 through 1993, following six terms as a member of the U.S. Congress, and before that, three terms as a Mecklenburg County (NC) commissioner. He was the first elected official to receive the Charles Lathrop Parsons Award, which is given by the American Chemical Society for outstanding public service by an American chemist. He was a corporate vice-president of Carolinas HealthCare System and later a member of the North Carolina government relations practice of McGuire Woods Consulting in Charlotte, NC. Martin began his career as an educator, earning a Ph.D. in chemistry from Princeton University and later teaching chemistry at his alma mater (1957), Davidson College. He has served as a trustee of Davidson College. Dr. Martin’s recent public service has included conducting an analysis of courses at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to determine the extent of academic anomalies. The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal in Raleigh, NC, is named for him.
Robert Murray
Robert Murray graduated from Davidson College in 1978, where he majored in political science and was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He attended the Woodrow Wilson School of Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia in pursuit of a masters degree. He is president of Health At Home, Inc. and owner of The Bridge Agency, Inc., both headquartered in Charlotte, NC.
Stephen B. Smith
Stephen B. Smith is a native of Camilla GA, graduated Davidson College class of 1966 - A.B. in economics. He received his MBA in 1968 from the University of Stanford Graduate School of Business. His business career was in investment banking and asset management. He served on the Davidson College board of trustees, 1990-92 and 2003-2005, and was chair of the Davidson Board of Visitors, 1990-92. He has been an ardent supporter of athletics at Davidson, particularly football.
Kenny Xu
Kenny Xu is a 2019 Davidson graduate, where he majored in mathematics and was active in the Davidson chapter of Young Americans for Freedom. Kenny is president of Color Us United, whose mission is to serve as the voice of those who oppose dividing America by race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic. He has challenged Harvard University for discrimination against Asian Americans, has worked as the director for media outreach against California Proposition 16 (race preferences), and has written for national publications like The Wall Street Journal, City Journal, The Federalist, The Daily Signal, and The Washington Examiner. He is the author of An Inconvenient Minority (Diversion, 2021) on the Ivy League discrimination cases and the lasting consequences of diversity ideology.