RELEASE: April 18, 2008
CONTACT: Audrey Bailey, (919) 807- 6963 Chancy Kapp, (919) 807- 6962
State Board of Community Colleges honors retiring president
STATESVILLE -- The State Board of Community Colleges today (April 18, 2008) heaped praise on retiring System President H. Martin Lancaster. The Board met on the campus of historic Mitchell Community College in Statesville.
The Board stated its intention to name Lancaster President Emeritus, an honor bestowed on only two previous presidents, Ben E. Fountain, (1971-1978), and Gov. Bob Scott, (1983-1994). The honorary title may only be officially bestowed after Lancaster’s May 1 retirement, but the Board wanted to announce the plan during his last official meeting. The Board also approved and presented a resolution honoring President Lancaster for his 11 years of service. (Photo: Powell and Pinnix-Ragland present resolution to Lancaster)
Each year Lancaster has curated an art exhibit in the Caswell Building, headquarters of the System Office. The exhibit displays the artistic creations of community college students, instructors, staff and retirees. The Board officially named the exhibit the H. Martin Lancaster Community College Exhibition. Board Vice-Chair Linwood Powell, who made the motion to name the exhibit for Lancaster, also encouraged the members to contribute to a fund that will be within the statewide Community Colleges Foundation to support the exhibit.
Before the Board took turns praising the outgoing president, representatives from the community college presidents and trustees had their say.
Gaston College President Pat Skinner, president of the NC Association of Community College Presidents, thanked Lancaster on behalf of her fellow members. She mentioned three specific highlights she said had a great impact on the colleges. The first was Lancaster’s leadership during the 2000 Higher Education Bond campaign. “Those funds have leveraged more support from our counties and private donors,” she said. She also praised his role in obtaining increased resources, especially grants and legislative support. Finally, she thanked him for his leadership in the development of the BioNetwork and the tremendous biotechnology training the System provides.
Dr. Donny Hunter, executive director of the NC Association of Community College Trustees, worked at the System Office when Lancaster became president. He said Lancaster brought in good people to work at the System Office, many of whom now have high leadership positions within the System and in other states. “The real impact,” he said, “is that he left it better than he found it.”
State Board members then took the opportunity to praise the man State Board Chair Hilda Pinnix-Ragland called “relentless.” She added, “I’m amazed you find the time to accomplish so much.”
Joanne Steiner, who worked in the biotechnology industry, said four words come to mind when she thinks of Lancaster, “leadership, vision, passion and integrity!”
Dr. Bob Greene, a retired community college president, said Lancaster “exceeded our expectations.”
Norma Turnage, a former member of the State Board of Education, said Lancaster had provided “outstanding leadership that was unselfishly given to the Community College System.”
Dr. Powell said Lancaster possessed the “vision, courage and determination to stay the course when the odds were against him.”
Jimmie Ford, who like Lancaster is from Wayne County, said, “Homeboy, you have done well!”
Dr. Scott Ralls, who will succeed Lancaster, told the Board he was not nervous as he prepares to take the helm next month. Instead, he said, he is excited because, “I am not filling his shoes, I’m standing on his shoulders. The trajectory he has set will propel us forward.”
In other action, the Board:
· Approved a motion to request $4.3 million in planning funds from the General Assembly for the relocation of the System Office.
· Approved a new position, Special Assistant for Economic Development and Engagement, which was proposed by Dr. Ralls as part of his System Office reorganization
The Board also praised and thanked Mitchell Community College President Doug Eason for his leadership during the implementation of the massive College Information System, the largest Information Technology system in higher education in the country.
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