Kay C. James, Chair

Kay Coles James joined Regent University in March 1996 as the Dean of the Robertson School of Government. Dean James also serves as a Professor of Government in this graduate-level institution located in Virginia Beach. In 1996, she served as Secretary of the Republican National Convention, Virginia Delegate, and as a member of the Platform Committee.

Mrs. James most recently served as the Secretary of Health and Human Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia, a position to which she was appointed by Governor George Allen in January 1994. As Secretary, Mrs. James had responsibility for fourteen state agencies and 17,000 employees with a combined biennial budget of $8.4 billion. Her priorities included developing and implementing Virginia's welfare reform initiative and administering the Commonwealth's vast health care agencies and services for the elderly, disabled and mentally ill. In addition, she conducted the broadest down-sizing initiative in state government, reducing staffing levels by more than ten percent.

Before being appointed to that post, Dean James was Senior Vice-President of the Family Research Council, a Washington-based policy organization. Prior to the Family Research Council, she served under President Bush as Associate Director for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Mrs. James also served President Bush as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Mrs. James was appointed by President Reagan and reappointed by President Bush as Commissioner on the National Commission on Children. In addition, Mrs. James was appointed in 1988 to the White House Task Force on the Black Family.

In the private sector, Mrs. James has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer with the One to One Partnership, a national umbrella organization for mentoring programs; as Director of Public Affairs for the National Right to Life Committee; as Personnel Director for Circuit City Stores, Inc.; and, as Director of Community Education and Development for Housing Opportunities Made Equal in Richmond.

Dean James is actively involved in community service and has served as a member of the Fairfax County School Board, Urban Alternatives, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Young Life and Women to the World International. She is currently a member of the Virginia State Board of Education, as well as the Boards of Directors of PhyCor, Inc., The Center for Jewish and Christian Values, Focus on the Family, and the Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities.

Mrs. James has published two works, an autobiography, Never Forget in 1993, and most recently, Transforming America: From the Inside Out (1995). She is a graduate of Hampton University, and has also received numerous honorary degrees and awards, including the William Wilberforce Award from Prison Fellowship and the Publius Institute Award for Public Policy.

Most importantly, Kay Coles James is the wife of Charles James, Sr. and the proud mother of Robert, Elizabeth and Charles, Jr.