Melvin T Stith

Dean, Martin J. Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University; Director, Flowers Foods, Inc. Melvin T. Stith was an Army captain in a jungle on the Cambodian border when he got his first invitation to Syracuse University. It didn't take any persuasion. He accepted it and earned his master's and Ph.D. degrees. The second invitation came when he was dean of the Florida State University College of Business. SU needed a dean for the Whitman School of Management. This time, it took some persuasion. Stith said he told the administration: "I'm not doing that. I've been a dean for 13 years. I'm thinking about stepping down and retiring." Eventually, he agreed to five years but stayed as dean for more than eight years. Now, he's fully retired, splitting his time between Syracuse and Tallahassee and working on boards of directors of corporations -- Aflac, Synovus Financial Corp., Flowers Foods, AARP Services Inc. -- and on non-profit boards such as the Jim Moran Foundation, the Crouse Hospital Foundation, Syracuse Stage, and the board of trustees at his alma mater, Norfolk State University.