A PPD executive is among the new members to join the Institute for Emerging Issues at N.C. State University’s national advisory board.
 
James “Jay” Dixon, senior vice president, global quality and compliance, for Wilmington-based PPD was recently appointed to a board seat.
 
Housed at N.C. State University, the Institute for Emerging Issues is a nonpartisan public policy, think-and-do tank focused on the state’s economy, according to a news release.
 
“Our Advisory Board helps us figure out how we can be most effective in preparing our state for the challenges we face going forward,” Leslie Boney, the institute’s director, said in the release. “They are experts and leaders in their fields, representing a diversity of perspectives across North Carolina, with a broad range of experience in business, civic engagement, education, public and private industry, and public policy.
 
Dixon, who also sits on the NC Biosciences Organization’s board, has more than 30 years of experience in the contract research organization, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. “At PPD, he is responsible for overseeing strategy and execution of the company’s global quality function, including clinical and laboratory quality assurance, regulatory compliance, risk management, policy and procedure management and quality management systems,” the release stated.
 
The four other newly appointed board members for the Institute for Emerging Issues were: Robin Gary Cummings, chancellor of University of North Carolina at Pembroke; Maureen Grasso, dean of N.C. State’s graduate school; Margaret Spellings, UNC system president; and James “Jimmie” Williamson, president of the N.C. Community College System. Each members serves an initial three-year term.