Fall Convocation: A Celebration of Our Founders
Chancellor Darrell T. Allison, Presiding
September 19, 2024
10 a.m.
J.W. Seabrook Auditorium
CONVOCATION ADDRESS
Dr. Willie H. Smith, ’82
Senior Procurement Executive - Retired
United States Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary
In October 2010, Willie H. Smith officially assumed the responsibilities of Senior Procurement Executive for the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). He was the official responsible for the management direction of all DOT procurement systems and programs. His responsibilities encompassed implementation of the full range of procurement policies, regulations, and standards applicable to the Department. He served as Senior Procurement Executive for 13 years, making him the longest tenured SPE in the Department’s history with responsibility for more than $9B annually in federal-direct contracts and more than $200B annually in grants and financial assistance. He retired from this position on April 3, 2024.
Prior to this assignment, Mr. Smith served as Director, Office of Acquisition Management for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). He was responsible for overseeing the full range of greater than one billion dollars of annual procurement services performed by the Office of Acquisition Management, including the development of FHWA procurement policy, planning and procurement programs, the recruitment and development of potential contracting sources, and the provision of the supply items required for the daily operation of the FHWA technical offices.
Before assuming the above assignment, Mr. Smith served as a Senior Program Analyst in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. In this capacity, he provided acquisition management oversight for Major Defense Acquisition Programs for the Departments of Air Force, Army, and Navy. He facilitated policy development and ensured the successful planning and integration of cost, schedule, and technical aspects of acquisition programs by promoting coordination, integration and mutual understanding within the Department of Defense (DoD), between Defense agencies and other Federal Agencies, and with International Cooperative Programs and Allied Nations.
Just prior to his position with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Mr. Smith served as Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air Programs. He provided recommendations and guidance in the evaluation of the politics, institutions, and actors involved in the agenda-setting, formulation, and implementation of Navy and DoD acquisition, procurement policy, and budget.
In addition to the aforementioned, Mr. Smith has served in an assortment of other leadership capacities within the Department of the Navy including Deputy Program Manager for the Navy’s Defense Suppressions Systems Program office, Acquisition Deputy to the Program Executive Officer for Tactical Aircraft programs, Operations Officer for the F/A-18 E/F program, and Program Manager for the $3 billion Finland F/A-18 Foreign Military Sales program.
Mr. Smith is a graduate of Fayetteville State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Management. He holds two Masters degrees; a Master of Public Administration degree with concentrations in Financial Management and Government Contracting; and a Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy. Mr. Smith also holds a Doctorate of Management and Organizational Leadership.
He has received numerous performance and honor awards including the DOT Secretary’s Award, FHWA Administrator’s Award for Superior Achievement, the Navy’s Civilian Meritorious Service award, the Secretary of the Navy’s Acquisition Reform award, and the Department of Defense Acquisition Excellence Award.
THE FAMILY OF THE YEAR
The Hamer Family
Bertha Barnes Hamer ’49 held several student leadership positions, including the superintendent of FSU Sunday School, the president of the Drama Guild, editor-in-chief of The Voice, and was part of the group that drafted the proposed student council’s constitution. Hamer won an essay contest for her “Radar” essay, inspired by lecture notes during chapel. At 19, Bertha B. Hamer became Fayetteville State University’s youngest alumna. Bertha met Forrest Hamer on the Fayetteville State Teachers College campus, and they married in 1955. When the Gold Wayne Alumni Chapter was first formed in 1963, Bertha Barens Hamer was one of its chapter charter members. Bertha died on December 24, 1996 and Forrest Hamer died on September 22, 2006.
Mr. Alton Hamer, attended Fayetteville State University from 1961-1963
Mrs. Bettye Gillespie Hamer, attended Fayetteville State University from 1960–1963 from 1961-1963
Dr. Aljanal “Nel” Hamer Carrol ’94 graduated from FSU with a BS in Accounting and Economics. Dr. Carroll is currently employed at Hahn Mason Air Systems as a Controller, and she is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia International University (CIU). Dr. Carroll also received her MBA in Accounting (Strayer ’17), MS in Project Management (Strayer ’24), and DBA in Leadership (Walden ’20). Dr. Carroll’s activities/involvement at FSU include: Miss Gospel Choir ’91, 2nd Runner-up Miss Homecoming Queen ’92, Miss Harris Hall ’93, 3rd Runner-up Miss FSU ’93, Senior Class Vice President ’93 - ’94 and pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Fall ’93 (Active Member with Rho Psi Omega in Charlotte, NC). Her love for FSU continues through her being a Bronco Legacy, an FSUNAA Life Member, President of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Alumni Chapter, and 2nd Vice President of the FSUNAA. Dr. Carroll’s parents, Bettye Gillespie Hamer, and the late Alton W. Hamer, met on the campus of Fayetteville State Teachers College (FSU) in 1961. Her father followed his brother (Forrest Hamer) and attended FSU from 1960-1963 and her mother attended from 1961-1963. They left FSU to get married in 1963. Dr. Carroll’s parents were married for 48 years until the death of her father (July 27, 2011).
Ty Hamer-Yelverton ’22 served in several student leadership roles. These included editor of The Voice’s Arts & Culture section, president of the NAACP’s FSU chapter for 2019–2021, treasurer of the Man in the Mirror Male Mentoring Organization, vice president of the Future Educators’ Club of the Student North Carolina Association of Educators (SNCAE), senator and class president of the Student Government Association, and king of the FSU Royal Court for the freshman class. Upon commencing his academic career at FSU, Hamer-Yelverton was a member of the 2017 LEAP Scholars Program cohort. He received the Royal Court Distinguished Collegian award in 2018. He received the 2019 Most Promised Leadership Award from the Student Government Association. In his time in college, Hamer-Yelverton held positions as an orientation leader specialist in the office of student engagement, a peer career coach and student data and assessment specialist in the career services office, a gear up tutor for the Gear Up program, and a student archivist in the Charles W. Chesnutt Library’s department of archives. Ty Hamer-Yelverton of the Gold-Wayne Alumni Chapter is an alumnus and assistant chaplain. Ty Hame-Yelverton is also the Grandson of Forrest and Bertha Hamer.