Tom Rabon named new chairman of MCNC Board of Directors

MCNC is ramping up North Carolina's broadband efforts to start new fiscal year and new era of leadership

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., June 29, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- MCNC, the independent non-profit operator of the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN) that serves community anchor institutions throughout North Carolina, today announced that Tom Rabon has been elected the new chairman of the MCNC Board of Directors, succeeding Michael A. Murphy at the start of the organization's new fiscal year beginning July 1.

Murphy has been a member of the MCNC Board of Directors for the last decade and served as chair for the last six years. He retired from a successful investment banking career in 1999 and teaches astronomy and physics at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, while staying in involved in other volunteer efforts, including being the current president of the Friends of N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences.

"Mike has led MCNC through a period of tremendous accomplishments," said MCNC President and CEO Joe Freddoso. "His business focus, tremendous financial acumen, and great passion for MCNC's mission have served the organization well, and his commitment to this demanding volunteer role has benefited every citizen in North Carolina."

Tom Rabon will assume the chairman role on July 1 bringing with him more than 25 years of experience working in government and the private sector. He has worked extensively with governments around the world to create opportunities in emerging markets working with companies like Lucent Technologies, AT&T, Red Hat, and currently as chairman and partner at New Kind. He also served three terms as a member of the N.C. General Assembly and on various other boards in the state including the North Carolina Technology Association, UNC Wilmington, and already for MCNC.

"All of us at MCNC are excited that Tom has agreed to take the chairman's role," said Freddoso. "He is known statewide as a thoughtful policy leader, a knowledgeable telecommunications executive, and an entrepreneur skilled in applying the open source innovation mentality to any field. Tom is the leader MCNC needs for the future which will be defined by how our community applies the expanded NCREN infrastructure to addressing the state's greatest challenges and opportunities."

Watch an exclusive video interview between Mike Murphy, Tom Rabon, and Joe Freddoso. Click here to view.

MCNC currently is working on a $144 million expansion of NCREN called the Golden LEAF Rural Broadband Initiative (GLRBI). To date, this project has infused more than $100 million in spending with private engineering, materials and optical equipment manufacturers, and construction companies in North Carolina in addition to acquiring fiber segments from telecommunications, cable companies, and electric membership cooperatives.

MCNC is preparing for the completion of the GLRBI by next summer with plans to use this new high-speed, low-latency, high-capacity network to drive cost efficiency, better education and health care outcomes, and advance research among NCREN connectors statewide. MCNC also will allow private technology companies to provide enhanced and value-added services over this expanded network by aggressively pursuing the use of shared services and cloud-based technologies and applications through private for-profit and non-profit providers. MCNC has a "big" fiscal year planned for broadband in North Carolina, and will "Think Big" at this year's annual Community Day celebration highlighting these efforts on Nov. 15-16 at Elon University.

About MCNC & NCREN Community
MCNC is an independent, non-profit corporation. MCNC's main focus is to operate the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN). For a more than a quarter century, NCREN continues to provide advanced Intranet and Internet connectivity to a constantly expanding number of Community Anchor Institutions throughout North Carolina. Today's users of NCREN include all 17 institutions of the University of North Carolina System, all 58 North Carolina Community Colleges, all 115 K-12 public school districts as well as a growing number of K-12 charter and private schools, the majority of the state's private colleges and universities, several non-profit and public health care facilities, and a number of the state's premier research institutions. NCREN also serves as the Internet gateway network for all state employees. MCNC currently is working on a $144 million expansion of NCREN scheduled to be completed by summer 2013. This initiative has been labeled the Golden LEAF Rural Broadband Initiative. Visit www.mcnc.org or follow @MCNC or @GLRBI.

Keywords & Tags
MCNC, NCREN, Mike Murphy, Tom Rabon, Joe Freddoso, BTOP, ARRA, NTIA, Golden LEAF, GLRBI, distance learning, community anchor institutions, North Carolina, NC, RTP, Research Triangle Park, education, telehealth, telecom, broadband, Internet, web, NC non-profits, news

Editorial Contacts
MCNC Communications Hotline: (919) 248.4105
Noah Garrett, NGC Communications, on behalf of MCNC: (252) 423.1277 or [email protected]

SOURCE MCNC