The Troy University Board of Trustees elected retired Air Force Brig. General Edward F. Crowell as Vice Chairman of the Pro Tempore Board of Directors.

Crowell is in the leadership position left vacant by the death of trustee Lamar P. Higgins, who died in April after a long illness.

Crowell and Dothan-area businessman Charles Nailen, both appointed to the board in 2009, were recently reappointed by Governor Kay Ivey.

“General Crowell and Mr. Nailen are recognized leaders who have had a profound impact on Troy University through their service on the Board of Trustees,” said Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., Chancellor. “I look forward to their continued service and am grateful for General Crowell’s willingness to take on this leadership role on the Council.

Crowell, who was recently running for mayor in the town of Montgomery, retired from VT Miltope as president and CEO. His corporate career includes working with Blount, Inc.

Crowell is a proud Air Force and Reserves veteran with over 35 years of service. He retired from the USAF at Maxwell Air Force Base in March 2009, where he had served as Commander of Air War College and Vice Commander of Air University while serving an extended period active duty and most recently as a mobilization assistant to the University Air Commander. He is a recipient of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and Meritorious Service Medals along with a host of others.

In addition to his service on the TROY Board of Directors, Crowell has been appointed to serve on the State Health Planning and Development Agency’s Certificate of Need Review Board and is a past Chairman of the Alabama State Ethics Commission. He is a board member of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, the Montgomery Metro YMCA, which named him 2018 man of the year, the chamber of commerce committee of the 100, and chairman of the board of directors of Central Alabama OIC.

Crowell graduated from Alabama State University with a BS in Business Administration and Economics, Troy University with an MS in Business Administration, Air Command & Staff College and Air War College. He also attended Auburn University Business School. He is married to Ernestine Jordan Crowell. They have two children.

Nailen has served on the Board of Directors since 2003. Nailen and his wife, Kay, own BBG Specialty Foods, Inc. – a franchise of Taco Bell Corporation, and GGG Foods, Inc. – a franchise of KFC Corporation. They currently operate restaurants in Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

He is a member of the Dothan region chamber of commerce, chairman of the Friends of Fort Rucker task force, a member of the board and executive committee of the Army Aviation Museum Foundation, Inc., a member of the Association of the United States Army, member of the board of directors of the Dothan-Houston County Airport Authority and the Business Council of Alabama.

Nailen has received numerous awards throughout his career, including the Friend of Education Award, presented by the Dothan Education Association, the Small Business Person of the Year Award, presented by the Dothan Region Chamber of Commerce, the Franchise Leadership Award, presented by Taco Bell Corporation, the Community Service Award, presented by the University of Troy, and the Outstanding Regional Advisory Committee Chairman’s Award, presented by the Alabama Business Council. In 2018, he was honored as a member of the Dothan Business Hall of Fame.