NC General Assembly Confirms UNCG Alumni with Vast Business, Civic, and Community Experience
UNC Greensboro (UNCG) announced two appointments by the North Carolina General Assembly to the UNCG Board of Trustees. Newly appointed board member Matthew Rankin will replace William A. “Dean” Priddy, Jr., whose term on the board of trustees ends June 30, 2025, following 10 years of dedicated service. Veteran trustee and sitting Board Chair George Hoyle has been reappointed to a second term. Both Rankin and Hoyle reside in Greensboro and are UNCG alumni. They will serve four-year terms running July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2029.
Newly appointed trustee Matthew Rankin earned a bachelor of science in management and marketing from UNCG’s Bryan School of Business and Economics in 1998. An accomplished entrepreneur, Rankin began his career in corporate banking with Wachovia in the Triad and continued with Wells Fargo, where he held progressively responsible positions until rising to senior vice president.
After 12 years in the banking industry, Rankin shifted to entrepreneurship in the real estate sector, focusing on construction, development, and property management in residential multifamily properties throughout North Carolina. In 2010, he became owner of Brantly Properties, Inc., a small property management company. In 2016, Rankin changed the corporate name to Carlisle Residential Properties, where he is currently president and CEO. Today, the company manages a portfolio of nearly 10,000 apartment units across the Carolinas and Virginia. Rankin is also an owner in Element Construction, a company specializing in the building of multifamily apartment communities.
Prior to his banking career, Rankin served in the U.S. Army in the 18th Field Artillery Brigade stationed at Fort Bragg, where he successfully completed Air Assault School; Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape School (S.E.R.E High Risk Level C); and trained with the 3rd Special Forces Group Demolition Team.
Rankin and wife Elizabeth, also a graduate of the UNC System, have been generous benefactors of UNCG, including naming the Rankin Family Assistant Athletic Trainer Office in the Coleman Athletics Building. They have also been actively engaged community members, providing philanthropic support to local nonprofit organizations such as Family Service of the Piedmont, Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, and Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts, as well as Children’s Home Society of North Carolina at the state level. In 2023, the Rankins were named to Family Service’s First Families Honor Society for their generous support and loyal service.
Rankin is currently serving his final year on the Greensboro Country Club board of directors as a past president. He also currently serves on the board of directors for Cleveland, Ohio-based Nacco Natural Resources, a publicly traded natural resources company, where he is chairman of the finance and special projects committees.
George Hoyle, a native of Winston-Salem and longtime resident of Greensboro, graduated in 1990 from UNCG, where he played a key role on the men’s soccer team from 1987-1990, contributing to their success as Division III national champions in 1987. Hoyle is a founding and managing partner at Compass Financial Partners, a Marsh McLennan Agency LLC company which has gained national recognition in retirement plan consulting, earning spots on Barron’s Top Institutional Investment Consultants, and Pensions & Investments Top Consultants, among other accolades.
Hoyle was first appointed to the UNCG Board of Trustees in 2000 by NC Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger and is currently serving a second term as board chair. His extensive service to UNCG includes roles on the University Investment Fund Board, Excellence Foundation Board of Directors, Light the Way Campaign Steering Committee, Students First Campaign Steering Committee, and the 2015 Chancellor Search Committee. Hoyle is also a past president of the Spartan Club Executive Committee and co-chaired the Athletics Department “5 for 5” Campaign for Champions. Additionally, Hoyle was named UNCG Young Alumni of the Year in 2007 and inducted into the UNCG Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
In 2021, Hoyle and wife Kathleen Kelly received the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals NC Triad Chapter for their dedication to UNCG and the Greensboro community. They have generously supported UNCG, particularly in athletics and student-athlete success, establishing multiple funds including the George G. Hoyle & Kathleen A. Kelly Endowed Athletic Scholarship for the men’s soccer program.
Beyond UNCG, Hoyle has served as board chair for the Carolinas Chapter of Operation Smile and is a founding member and current co-president of the Greensboro Police Foundation Board. He has also served as co-chair for the United Way of Greater Greensboro Tocqueville Society and is currently vice chair of the Greensboro Sports Foundation Board.
“I want to first thank Dean Priddy for his 10 years of tremendous service and dedication to UNCG. His contributions to the University and to the board of trustees are immeasurable, and we know he will continue to be an active and engaged Spartan. He will be missed,” said Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr.
“I also want to welcome newly appointed Trustee Matthew Rankin to the board. He and George Hoyle are testament to the value of a UNCG education. Both have achieved success in their respective fields through hard work and dedication, embracing and adapting to external change, and driving efficiency and fueling growth while investing significantly in their community and beyond,” Gilliam continued. “This type of sound, innovative, and strategic leadership is essential as we continue to confront the myriad headwinds facing the higher education sector. It is our good fortune to have them as alumni and trustees, and we are honored and grateful for their commitment to their alma mater.”
Fox Brown, incoming UNCG Student Government Association president, will also join the board of trustees as an ex officio member as of July 1.
Story and photos by University Communications
