TROY – Gov. Bob Riley has appointed Mobile attorney and TROY alumnus Forrest S. Latta to the University’s Board of Trustees.

“I’m glad to have someone of Forrest’s caliber representing the First District on our board,” said Dr. Doug Hawkins, president pro-tem of the University’s board of trustees. “I knew him as a student and he was very outstanding then, and has since made a name for himself. He has been very active in our alumni association as well as in state affairs. He’s very knowledgeable and I welcome him to the board.”

Latta, a member of Bowron, Latta & Wasden, P.C. law firm, practices primarily in the areas of insurance litigation, product liability litigation, business litigation and appellate litigation. He graduated summa cum laude from Troy University in 1980 and completed his juris doctorate at Samford University’s Cumberland Law School in 1983. While at Cumberland, he was a member of the Cumberland Law Review, the National Trial Team and Curia Honoris Senior Honorary.

“Coming back to TROY, I was most impressed,” Latta said. “While the University has the same heart, soul and spirit it had when I was a student, the University has ‘grown up’ a lot in the years I’ve been away. It’s now truly an international and worldwide university – one of the first in the nation and Alabama to see the possibilities of growth and reach its goals.”

“To be a part of the advancement of peoples’ lives – people who what to get ahead, who are working hard but still want a quality education through technology like eCampus is a tremendous opportunity,” he said.

Latta, a former broadcast journalist and Associated Press award winner for news coverage, is a member of the Alabama Supreme Court Standing Committee on Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Defense Research Institute, the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel and serves on the board of directors of the American Law Firm Association. He was a member of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association board of directors from 1996-1998 and is a member of the American Bar Association and the Alabama State Bar.

“The appointment as trustee by Governor Riley is very humbling – first because I have great respect for him personally and want to do a good job, and secondly because there are only nine people who get to serve as trustees, each serving a 12-year term,” Latta said. “I think many people do not realize the role of a trustee is to be a steward on behalf of its owners -- the citizens and taxpayers of the state – for whom Troy University is a huge investment.”

Latta said his personal philosophy as a trustee also extended to making quality education available to all – a good fit with the University’s commitment to serving both traditional and non-tradition college students.

“When I was in college, there were a lot of people who never had a chance to get a college degree because they were working full time or had full-time family commitments – they just couldn’t fit college in,” Latta said. “TROY is addressing this and it’s the future of education and TROY is way out front.”

Latta’s appointment must be confirmed by the State Senate when it convenes in the January.