CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Gayle Lanier, senior vice president of customer services at Duke Energy, was awarded North Carolina State University’s prestigious 2017 Watauga Medal, the university’s highest nonacademic honor.
The board of trustees has awarded the medal each year since 1975 in recognition of extraordinary service and commitment to the university. Lanier was one of four individuals who received the award during the university’s annual Founders’ Day observance on March 3.
“NC State had a profound impact on my life and helped shape me personally and professionally,” said Lanier. “Giving back to the university that helped me develop skills to position me for success in my career has been an honor. I am extremely grateful to NC State for this designation and will continue to be an advocate for the university that gave me so much.”
Lanier holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from NC State. She is also a former member and secretary of the university’s board of trustees.
Lanier established the Dwain K. and Gayle S. Lanier NCSU Scholarship Endowments in 2003 and 2016 to help benefit needs-based engineering students and Poole College of Management students. She received the NCSU Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award in 2008, the Ed P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering Alumni Award in 2007, and served as the NC State College of Engineering Keynote Address speaker in 2005. She is also a lifetime member of the NC State Alumni Association.
“It was our honor to present Gayle with the Watauga Medal, and I am pleased that we were able to recognize her many years of service to NC State in this way,” said W. Randolph Woodson, chancellor of the university. “Our university has benefitted from Gayle’s service on our board of trustees, board of visitors, engineering foundation board, and computer science strategic advisory board, among others. In every role, she has brought intelligence, integrity, enthusiasm and a commitment to make NC State a challenging and welcoming university for generations of future students.”
At Duke Energy, Lanier is responsible for customer contact operations, revenue billing and receivables, and metering services. In addition, she has responsibility for managing the relationships and services to the company’s small, medium and assigned large retail customers.
Lanier received the 2009 The Network Journal’s 25 Influential Black Women in Business Award, and the 2011 Business Leader Women Extraordinaire honor.
About Duke Energy
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is one of the largest energy holding companies in the United States. Its Electric Utilities and Infrastructure business unit serves approximately 7.5 million customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest. The company’s Gas Utilities and Infrastructure business unit distributes natural gas to approximately 1.6 million customers in the Carolinas, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Its Commercial Renewables business unit operates a growing renewable energy portfolio across the United States.
Duke Energy is a Fortune 125 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com.
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