Aubrey B. Harwell Jr. is the managing partner of Neal & Harwell, a well-known Nashville law firm. He specializes in white-collar criminal defense and commercial litigation.

Recently, he has focused much of his attention on matters of corporate governance and corporate crisis management. He has represented such high profile clients as Eddie DeBartolo, former owner of the San Francisco 49ers, Bridgestone/Firestone Corporation, David Paul of CenTrust Savings & Loan and a former White House aide in the White Water investigation.

Mr. Harwell is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and the Vanderbilt University School of Law. He has taught at the Vanderbilt University School of Law, served on the Law School's Board and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Nashville School of Law. He is a Life Member of the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference and is a past President of the Nashville Bar Association, Past President of the Tennessee Chapter, and a member of the National Board of Directors of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA); he has served in numerous capacities as a leader in many other professional organizations.

For many years, Mr. Harwell has served on the Advisory Boards of FCA Venture Partners I and FCA Venture Partners II, both Nashville-based venture capital firms. Further, he is a former board member and chairman of the board of PediaNet, a physicians' practice management company recently acquired by Kelson. He is also Secretary and a member of the board of directors of NID Corporation, formerly the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation.

Mr. Harwell's civic activities include service on the Boards of Trust of the Meharry Medical College, the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, the Boy Scouts of America, the Vanderbilt University Children's Hospital, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Easter Seals Society, the Music City Bowl, the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and other organizations. He is immediate past Board Chairman of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, past Chairman of the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, Vice Chairman of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, and Board Chairman of the Easter Seals Society of Tennessee. He is the Treasurer and on the Executive Committee of the National Council, Boy Scouts of America.

Mr. Harwell is a recipient of the National Distinguished Eagle Scout award; he also received the Joe Kraft Humanitarian award from the Nashville Community Foundation, the John Tune Public Service award from the Nashville Bar Foundation, was the annual tribute honoree of the Arthritis Foundation several years ago, and shared the honor as Nashvillian of the Year, along with Amy Grant, for 2002. He recently was named the 2002 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year by the Vanderbilt University Law School.

Mr. Harwell was named chairholder of the Jennings A. Jones Chair of Excellence in Free Enterprise on August 1, 2002. As chairholder he will be responsible for assisting in the development of young men and women for leadership and entrepreneurial roles in business. This may be carried out through classroom instruction, conferences, workshops, and other activities in the field of free enterprise. Mr Harwell's widely recognized abilities, accomplishments and contacts in the world of innovative free enterprise will allow him to bring nationally respected individuals to our campus.