The Search for Our Next President/CEO
Voices from Around the State
"North Carolina's community colleges are designed to welcome people from all backgrounds and move them toward valuable credentials, promising careers, or the next step on their path through higher education. The NCCCS president must balance the competing demands of students, employers, local communities, and state leaders to strengthen the infrastructure of opportunity in North Carolina, offering upward mobility in a dynamic economy. As a former president of the System, I know there is tremendous opportunity for a thoughtful, focused leader to harness our 58 extraordinary community colleges in a way that delivers for all North Carolinians."
— Peter Hans, President, University of North Carolina System
"Every major economic development announcement this state has made in recent years — the investments, the jobs, the industries choosing North Carolina over everywhere else — rests on a critical guarantee: that we can deliver the talent. The 58 colleges of the North Carolina Community College System are essential to our ability to meet that promise. The next president of this System isn't just leading an education organization. They are a key steward of North Carolina's economic future."
— Lee Lilley, Secretary of N.C. Department of Commerce
"Every day, our team is asked by corporate executives, site selectors, and business decision-makers whether our state can produce the workforce they need, whatever their industry. In North Carolina, we answer that question with confidence every time — because our community colleges don't just fill today's open positions. They build the pipelines for jobs that don't yet exist, train the skilled tradespeople every industry in this state depends on, and adapt faster than any other education sector when the economy shifts. That's not just a talent pipeline. That's a competitive advantage. The next president is, in a very real sense, one of our most powerful economic development tools."
— Christopher Chung, Chief Executive Officer, Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina
— Sharon Decker, former Secretary of N.C. Department of Commerce and Senior Advisor for Long-Term Recovery, Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina
"North Carolina's business community doesn't just benefit from a strong community college system — we depend on it. The talent pipeline that runs through our 58 community colleges allows companies to grow here, stay here, and keep choosing North Carolina when they have options everywhere else. Our members know this. They feel it in their hiring, in how they invest in their workforce, and in their ability to compete. The next president of this System will lead an organization that is foundational to North Carolina’s economic future and the success of the state’s workforce, and the NC Chamber looks forward to continuing to be a partner in that work.”
— Gary Salamido, President and CEO, NC Chamber
“The next North Carolina community college system president will be assuming a critical role at a pivotal time. Our Great 58 community colleges have accomplished extraordinary things, student focused innovations are unfolding across the state, and the philanthropic community is invested at every level."
— MC Belk Pilon, President and Board Chair, John M. Belk Endowment
"The partnership between North Carolina’s public schools and our community colleges has been and continues to be a success, allowing many students to begin their journeys to college and careers before they even graduate from high school. When we do this work well together, students graduate from high school and arrive at community college with a direction, not just a diploma. The next President of our community colleges will be a critical partner to North Carolina public schools as they help students realize and deliver their futures."