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Welcome
to Carland College!
We are dedicated to serving prospective, beginner and experienced entrepreneurs! Our students master the arts of launching, growing and leading entrepreneurial ventures! To that end, we have recruited a team of experienced entrepreneurs and educators to lead the organization. In the sections below, we present the members of our Board of Directors. |
Home Page for Carland College Home Page for Prospective Students The Baccalaureate Program The Master's Program Certificate Programs Tuition and Fees Financing Options Academic Calendar Download our Academic Catalog Application Forms Information for International Students Email or call for more information: Info@CarlandCollege.com Office: 828-665-0046 Toll Free: 866-586-0046 |
Members
of the Board
of Directors Robert Bennett, Asheville, North Carolina Michael Burnette, Whittier, North Carolina Janet Burnette, Whittier, North Carolina Michael Ensley, Morganton, North Carolina Rankin (Bud) Hipp, Asheville, North Carolina Gary Jones, Hendersonville, North Carolina Andrea Owensby, Hendersonville, North Carolina Delmar Ponder, Marion, North Carolina Chair of the Board: Michael Ensley Finance Committee: Bob Bennett, Chair; Janet Burnette; Bud Hipp Ethics Committee: Mike Burnette, Chair; Gary Jones; Andrea Owensby; Del Ponder In the following section we present background information for our Members. |
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Dr. Ensley serves as Chair of
the Carland College Board of Directors. He is the co-founder of
the Executive Assessment Institute and leads the organization with his
wife, Rhonda. He was previously a Tenured Professor at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and The University of North Carolina
at Charlotte. He has published more than 50 articles in leading
entrepreneurship journals and presented more than 50 papers at various
entrepreneurship conferences. His work is regularly cited in the
academic literature and he is one of the best known researchers on
entrepreneurship teams in the world. He left academe in 2007 to
devote full time to growing his own entrepreneurial venture.
Dr. Ensley spent more than ten years perfecting his ExecuSmart Suite of assessment tools and he has dedicated himself to the application of "good science" to the process of talent management, executive coaching, and executive assessment. He has consulted at many large public organizations and smaller startup organizations. His clients have included Ford Motor Company, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, The Battelle Memorial Institute, Tenet HealthCare, Nokia, Goldman Sachs, and many others. His efforts to merge cutting edge research with practical application has resulted in the ability to develop assessment tools that create real financial impact by understanding how changes in leadership and teams directly affect the firm's financial position. This has created a specific competitive advantage for Executive Assessment Institute team. Michael holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from Mississippi State University with a concentration in Organization Theory and Strategy, an MBA from Western Carolina University, and a BSBA from Western Carolina University. He resides in Morganton, with his wife and three year old son, Hunter. |
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Mr. Bennett serves as a Member of the Carland College Board of Directors and is Chair of the Finance Committee. After serving in the United States Air Force during the Viet Nam era, Mr. Bennett worked for an agency in South America until he came to Asheville, North Carolina, in the mid 1960s. Mr. Bennett spent the next twenty years in consumer finance, becoming one of the most prolific, and well known, lending officers at the Bank of Asheville, and throughout Western North Carolina. Having recognized the need for assistance which occurs so frequently when consumers become overextended, Mr. Bennett determined to take action. He envisioned and founded the non-profit Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Western North Carolina. He became its first President in 1973, and shifted to full time involvement in 1987. He led the organization to financial stability before leaving in 1990 to pursue other interests. He has since been involved in a number of entrepreneurial ventures. Mr. Bennett is currently President of Confidential Financial Services, Inc., a financial concierge company. His specialties include financial restructuring and Internal Revenue Service negotiations, and he has worked with hundreds of clients over the years. Reflecting his strong penchant for service throughout his life, Mr. Bennett has been active in numerous civic and community organizations, from the Optimist Club, to Santa Pal, to the March of Dimes, to the United Way, and has given over ten gallons of blood in the last three years. He views his work as a youth mentor as among the most rewarding of his interests and he is revered as a surrogate parent by dozens of young people. |
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Ms.
Burnette serves as a Member of the Board of Directors and is a Member
of the Finance Committee. She is a native of Swain County.
Ms. Burnette earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Major in Accounting from Western Carolina University. She also earned a Master of Business Administration from WCU and she is a Certified Public Accountant. Ms. Burnette has worked with Southwestern Community College for almost 20 years. She started as a staff accountant and rose through the administrative ranks of this 9,000 student college to become its Vice President of Administrative Services. As the Chief Financial Officer for the College, Ms. Burnette is responsible for overseeing a $21 million annual budget. In addition, the Director of Human Resources and Facility Development and the Director of Technology Services report to her, making her the senior administrative officer, as well. Janet is married to Mike Burnette, Southwestern’s Criminal Justice Department Chair. They have one daughter, Hannah, who was born in July, 2000. |
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Mr. Hipp serves as a Member of the Board of Directors and is a Member of the Finance Committee. Mr. Hipp began his career in Asheville as a collector for a finance company in 1965. He rapidly rose to Manager of the Asheville office and moved to the Bank of Asheville in 1971, becoming the Manager of the Collection Department. In 1973, Bud became a Consumer Lender for the Bank, and assumed duties as Manager of the Consumer Loan Department in 1975. The Bank of Asheville was acquired by the North Carolina National Bank, which ultimately became the Bank of America. Mr. Hipp managed the total consumer loan portfolio for the Asheville office until 1983. At that point, Bud was promoted to Marketing Representative and assumed responsibilities for consumer and commercial loan solicitation and development of dealer business from Charlotte, North Carolina, west to Knoxville, Tennessee. He kept that position until his retirement from the Bank of America in 1995. Mr. Hipp was tapped to establish and manage an automobile finance office in Asheville, in 1995. He set up the office for Regional Acceptance Corporation and managed it until 2000. Bud’s office was consistently the leader in loan production while maintaining the lowest delinquency rate in the company. Upon leaving Regional, Bud again launched an automobile finance office, this time for Carolina Finance Corporation. He continues to operate as Manager of the Asheville office, and continues to lead the company in loan production and delinquency control. Mr. Hipp holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Campbell University, and has a Supplemental Banking Degree from UNC Chapel Hill. A graduate of the Dale Carnegie Winning Friends and Influencing People program, Bud is widely known in the finance industry in western North Carolina. He has been active in numerous civic organizations over the years, and has held leadership positions in a variety of organizations including the Optimist Club, Santa Pal, Helpmate, and the Civitan Club. He held numerous offices in various Parent-Teacher associations for Venable Elementary School, Enka Middle School, and Enka High School. He may be best known for his work with the Blue-White High School All Star Game. Bud has been Co-Chairman of the Blue-White Game since 1985, and continues to be the driving force behind that organization. Bud is married to his childhood sweetheart, Kaye, and they have a daughter, Kitty, and a son, Bill, and four grandchildren. Bud and Kay make their home in Asheville. |
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Dr.
Burnette serves as a Member of the Board of Directors and is Chair of
the Ethics Committee. He is a native of
Swain County. He began his career in Jacksonville, Florida in
1976, with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department, where he served as a
patrol officer working in racially diverse areas of Jacksonville during
the next three years. He returned to his area home in late 1979
and was employed as a Deputy Sheriff with the Swain County Sheriff’s
Department, before transferring to the Bryson City Police Department
where he worked as a Police Officer. In 1983, he began working at
Southwestern Community College as a part-time instructor teaching
various skills courses over the next seven years. In July of
1984, Dr. Burnette was appointed to the position of Magistrate in Swain
County and continues to maintain that position to this date.
In January of 1986, Mike returned to Western Carolina University to complete his degree, graduating Summa Cum Laude from WCU with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice in 1988. He enrolled in the Master of Public Affairs program in January, 1989, and completed that degree in May, 1992. In October of 1991, Mike was honored by the Southern Criminal Justice Association as Graduate Student of the Year. In August 2001, Mike embarked on a new educational journey pursuing a doctoral degree. Mike successfully defended his dissertation on March 23, 2006, earning a Doctorate in Adult and Community College Education through North Carolina State University. Dr. Burnette had the opportunity to apply for and acquire the position of Criminal Justice Department Chair at Southwestern Community College on November 1, 1990. He currently maintains that position at the college. During his tenure at SCC, Mike has been privileged to achieve a variety of distinctions. In 1993, Mike completed a series of study at the Washington, DC Metro Police Department and became certified as a Computer Voice Stress Analyst. In 1994, the International Academy presented Mike with a Distinguished Case Writing Award for Case Studies. The award winning case study was entitled “The Thinnest Blue Line” and was published in the Journal of the International Academy of Case Studies. In 1995, the North Carolina Criminal Justice Association honored Mike by presenting him with the Outstanding Criminal Justice Educator Award for that year. In 1996, 1998, and 2006, Mike was selected for inclusion in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. Additionally, Mike has been involved in a number of entrepreneurial ventures. He was previously involved with The Preferred Edge, Inc., as Vice President of Research and Development. He currently serves as President of Burnette Consulting, Inc. In that capacity he has served as a private consultant for various criminal justice agencies, including the Buncombe County Day Reporting Center; the Almont, Michigan, Police Department; the Andrews Police Department; the Clay County Sheriff’s Department; the Crossville, Tennessee, Police Department; the East Rutherford, New Jersey, Police Department; and the Kane County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Department. His specialty is acting as a Consultant for Problem-Solving Partnership Grants. In addition to serving as the Criminal Justice Department Chair, Dr. Burnette serves as the Department Chair for the Cyber Crime Technology Program at SCC. This is the first independent Associate’s Degree Program in Cyber Crime in the nation. Mike co-developed this curriculum with close friend and colleague, Kirk Stephens. Mike and Kirk have developed the on-line component courses for the entire Cyber Crime Technology curriculum. Mike is married to Janet Kinsland Burnette, Southwestern’s Vice President of Administrative Services. He has two children, Kevin, who is a graduate of Appalachian State University, and a daughter, Hannah, who was born in July 2000. |
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Ms. Owensby serves as a Member of the Board of Directors and is a Member of the Ethics Committee. She is a native of Buncombe County and a graduate of Roberson High School. She graduated from the nursing program at the Latta Nursing School which was affiliated with Memorial Mission Hospital. That program was subsumed into the A-B Tech Nursing Program and the Western Carolina University program in 1971. Ms. Owensby began her career as a Registered Nurse in the late nineteen sixties in Asheville, North Carolina. Over the next 30 years she held a variety of positions at hospitals across the southeast. Ms. Owensby progressed into Nursing Management in both inpatient and outpatient settings and worked with a number of different health care agencies and hospitals. Ten years ago, Ms. Owensby left nursing to pursue opportunities in business. She returned to her home in Hendersonville, North Carolina and began working as store manager for an entrepreneurial venture. Three years later, she progressed into a position as Quality Director for a community development company. After five years in customer service, she became office manager for another entrepreneurial venture which is a custom home builder. Andrea has been a real estate developer for a number of years, working with a large property she owns in Henderson County. She is now working on the launch of a new business which will provide retreat facilities for people who seek a rustic experience. She has two sons, Justin and Brandon, and she makes her home in Henderson County. |
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Mr.
Jones serves as a Member of the Board of Directors and is a Member of
the Ethics Committee. He is a native of Henderson County, and a
lifelong resident of the area.
Mr. Jones has 40 years of entrepreneurship experience, and has started, operated, and sold a number of businesses over the years. He is currently operating Jones Commercial Properties, specializing in finding, selling, and managing commercial properties throughout the western part of North Carolina. Gary is currently serving on the Hendersonville MLS Board, and has previously served on the Pardee Hospital Board. He is active in the community and frequently contributes his time and energy to a variety of projects. His wife, Cindy, is also a native of Western North Carolina and is also an award winning Real Estate Broker. They have two children, a son and a daughter, and recently welcomed a daughter-in-law into the family. Holder of the prestigious Certified Commercial Investor Member, CCIM, designation, Gary is a dominant force in commercial real estate in the region. |
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Mr.
Ponder serves as a Member of the Board of Directors and is a Member of
the Ethics Committee. After
his graduation from Mars Hill College in 1989, Mr. Ponder worked for
seven years with the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology in
Research Triangle Park as a Senior Research Associate providing
technical support for inhalation technology and aerosol technology
research programs. He then became Regional Sales Manager for
Sanyo Denki America. He ultimately managed the Research Triangle
Park regional sales office covering eight southeastern states, together
with key global accounts in the United Kingdom and Asia.
In 2001, Mr. Ponder moved to Cardinal Health, formerly known as Magellan Laboratories, in Morrisville, North Carolina, where he became a Scientist specializing in metered dose inhaler formulation development. In this position, he authored study reports summarizing experimental results and conclusions involving metered dose inhaler formulation. This led to a position with Wyeth Vaccines, Sanford, North Carolina, where he worked as a contract Technical Writer. He wrote a number of scientific and technical procedures, change controls, reports and specifications for products, processes and services related to the performance of vaccine manufacturing equipment. In 2005, Del joined with his wife in founding Conservation Concepts, in Old Fort, North Carolina (www.conservationconcepts.org). This company is a biological laboratory dedicated to controlling the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid in eastern hemlock forests. Dawn and Del have built a highly successful business which focuses on making biological control a viable option for the private landowner. They have developed laboratory and field rearing techniques for beneficial predator insects, and have perfected a chemical control service emphasizing scientifically proven integrated pest management practices. Their clients include individual landowners, conservancies, and governmental agencies. The focus of this unusual business is mass rearing of the beneficial predator beetle, Sasajiscymnus tsugae, which actively hunts, and feeds voraciously on all life stages of the destructive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. Dawn and Del believe that biological control offers the greatest long term potential for preserving the aesthetically and ecologically important hemlock forests. They raise and release these predator beetles from late February through May, depending on elevation and local conditions, and can deliver them wherever Eastern or Carolina hemlocks are found. Del holds a B.S. from Mars Hill College, and a Master of Entrepreneurship from Western Carolina University. He is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society, and makes his home east of Asheville, between Marion and Old Fort. |
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