Auburn Research and Technology Foundation

Board of Directors

James H. Sanford, Chairman, is chairman of the board of HOME Place Farms, Inc. and is a fourth-generation cotton producer whose great-grandparents began operations of a cotton farm in 1881. Sanford received a BS in business administration in 1968 and an MS in economics in 1971 from Auburn University. He is affiliated with many organizations, including the Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce, Autauga County United Way and various advisory boards with Auburn University.

William Batchelor, PhD, is the dean of the College of Agriculture and the director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES). He is responsible for the direction and scope of research, instruction and outreach programs offered in both the College and the AAES. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in agricultural engineering at the University of Georgia and his doctorate in agricultural engineering at the University of Florida.

Larry Benefield, PhD, is the dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University and is responsible for the overall direction, scope, and mission of the college. A registered professional engineer, he is a tenured faculty member in the Department of Civil Engineering. He received his BCE and MS degrees from Auburn University and PhD from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

Bill Goodrich is president and chief executive officer of Richgood Corporation, a venture capital and investment firm in Birmingham. He received a BA degree from Washington & Lee University in 1970 and a JD degree from Cumberland Law School in 1977.

Bill Ham Jr., Secretary, was elected to the Auburn City Council in 1986 and has served as the city of Auburn's mayor since 1998. Mayor Ham, an Auburn native and a 1977 graduate of Auburn University, is the owner of Varsity Enterprises, Inc., and serves on numerous community boards, including serving as chair of the Auburn Airport Advisory Board.

Bill Hardgrave, PhD, is Dean and Wells Fargo Professor in the College of Business, Auburn University. Prior to joining Auburn University in August 2010, Dr. Hardgrave was the Edwin & Karlee Bradberry Chair in Information Systems in the Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. At Arkansas, he also founded and served as executive director of the Information Technology Research Institute and the RFID Research Center. He received his PhD from Oklahoma State University.

John M. Mason, PhD, President, is the vice president for research and associate provost at Auburn University and serves as the President of the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation. He was previously the associate dean for Graduate Studies, Research, and Outreach in the College of Engineering at Penn State University where he received his BS degree in transportation. He was a tenured professor of civil engineering, director of the Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, and the executive director for the Mid-Atlantic University Transportation Center. He received his MS degree in transportation engineering from Villanova University and PhD in civil engineering from Texas A&M University.

Jim Odom is a consultant for Science Applications International Corporation. He began his career in the launch vehicle business with the Huntsville/von Braun Team, transitioning with this team to become NASA's Marshall Flight Center . His many responsibilities at NASA included the Saturn, Apollo, Shuttle, and Hubble Space Telescope programs. He retired from NASA in 1989 and has remained active in space research.

Bill Taylor became president of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama after nearly 40 years in the automotive industry. He came to EDPA from Mercedes-Benz U.S. International when he retired as its president in June 2009. Prior to joining Mercedes in 1993, he served as vice president of manufacturing for Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Ontario, Canada, and in various management positions at Ford Motor Co. While at Mercedes, he helped to develop its production system and oversaw a $600 million expansion of the Tuscaloosa County plant.

David R. Thrasher, MD, is a pulmonary and critical care physician in Montgomery, Alabama. He received a BS in fisheries biology and an MS from Auburn University. He received his MD from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has been involved with several early stage companies that eventually went public and sits on a venture capital board in Atlanta. He is also on numerous civic, as well as business boards and serves on the Judicial Inquiry Commission.

Virginia Thompson serves on the Auburn University Board of Trustees where she chairs the Academic Affairs Committee. She chairs the Auburn Spirit Foundation, which raises money for scholarships for high-achieving students and serves on the Women's Leadership Institute advisory board. A 1978 graduate of Auburn's College of Business, Virginia currently works at East Alabama Medical Center.

John D. Weete, PhD, Executive Director, is formerly the vice president for research and economic development at West Virginia University and president of the West Virginia University Research Corporation. He is also emeritus professor and former associate dean in the College of Sciences and Mathematics at Auburn University.