The new president of the University of North Carolina system, Margaret Spellings, visited WCU Friday to promote the NC bond referendum and share her vision for the UNC system.
In front of the Board of Trustees, Spellings laid out her top priorities for the UNC system: enhance
Chancellor Belcher, Margaret Spellings and Dean Richard Starnes. Photo by Bradley Lucore.
faculty and staff salaries, work on accountability, STEM graduates and student success, delay the implementation of the North Carolina Guaranteed Admission Program (NCGAP), and work to get the bond referendum passed.
The new president held a press conference with Chancellor David Belcher and Dr. Richard Starnes, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, to promote the $2 billion bond referendum voters will decide on at the polls Tuesday. If passed, WCU will receive $110 million to build a new natural sciences building.
The current natural sciences building is serving 4,000 more students than it was designed for, according to Starnes. Chancellor Belcher said the new building is a key part of economic development in the state. He added the bond will not create any new taxes.
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Spellings assured the board that investing in faculty and staff through pay and opportunities is a top priority. Improving communication between universities and the general administration is another priority.
“We’re in the people business, that’s what we do,” Spellings said.
Spellings conducted a round-table meeting with student leaders Friday morning, where she laid out her vision of the UNC system and WCU for her five-year term.
Margaret Spellings poses with students. Photo by Bradley Lucore.
The new president said North Carolina is a unique place with untapped potential.
“This is an economic powerhouse with a wide variety of people and lots to recommend it,” Spellings said as she addressed student leaders. “I think we can take a leadership role here, bring [the legislature] data, bring them solutions and enact it and lead the country.”
Spellings encouraged the students to be proactive in learning about the system and know the competing forces that drive higher education.
Spellings plans to visit all 17 campuses in the UNC system by May 17. She visited Fayetteville State University on March 4 and WCU on March 10-11.
Spellings was the U.S. Secretary of Education from 2005 to 2009 under the George W. Bush administration. In that role, she led the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act.
