Bell Atlantic President Seidenberg and Howard President Swygert Meet to Announce Executive in Residence

Bell Atlantic President Seidenberg and Howard President Swygert Meet to Announce Executive in Residence

August 25, 1997

Washington, D.C. -- Ivan G. Seidenberg, vice chairman, president and chief operating officer of Bell Atlantic, and H. Patrick Swygert, president of Howard University, met today at the University to announce that Colson P. Turner, chairman of Bell Atlantic Credit Corp. and one of the highest ranking African-American financial executives in the nation, has been named to the new position of executive-in-residence at the university's School of Business. The appointment is effective Oct. 1.

Swygert also announced that Turner is the first Bell Atlantic executive to be appointed to the Executive-in-Residence Program at the School of Business. The program's primary aim is to offer graduate and undergraduate students direct access to a veteran executive as both a teacher and adviser.

"With this program, Bell Atlantic is stepping forward and recognizing the value that an experienced executive can bring to the University," said Swygert. "Having Colson Turner on campus will enable us to make full use of his knowledge of the fast-changing telecommunications industry as well as his 32 years of management experience. I look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with Colson and with Bell Atlantic."

Seidenberg said, "Colson's track record is a model both for managing major corporate responsibilities and for managing one's own career. His presence at Howard should be a major benefit to the students.

"At Bell Atlantic," Seidenberg added, "we are committed to reflecting the diversity of the world we serve in our employee ranks. Colson has guided us on diversity

issues before, and I hope that his work and example will lead some Howard students to consider a career at Bell Atlantic."

Turner stated, "This kind of opportunity has long been a goal of mine. I'm looking forward to working closely with the students and helping them profit from my experience."

Turner began his career in telecommunications

in 1965 at New York Telephone, progressing through a series of finance, computer processing and human resources positions to become vice president-Customer Relations. For the past six years, he held the position of vice president and treasurer of NYNEX.

With the merger of Bell Atlantic and NYNEX, he was named chairman and chief executive officer of the Bell Atlantic Credit Corp., a $3.5 billion leasing subsidiary.

He received a bachelor's degree in chemistry

from Hampton University in 1965 and earned a master's of business

administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration

in 1974.

Howard University is the only comprehensive research university in the country that has a predominantly African-American student body. It is a private institution with some 11,000 students enrolled in programs that encompass approximately 167 areas of academic concentration leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, as well as professional degrees in dentistry, divinity, law, medicine and pharmacy. The Carnegie Foundation ranks Howard University as a Level I research institution, one of only 88 such institutions in the country to be so designated. Howard University is ranked first among all American colleges and universities in conferring degrees on African Americans.