University of North Carolina System President Margaret Spellings has recently announced her resignation, effective March 1, 2019. She has served as system president since March 2016.
During her tenure as president, Spellings worked with the Board of Governors and the North Carolina General Assembly to cap college tuition in an effort to make state universities affordable to students. Additionally, Spellings implemented NC Promise, an initiative to bring tuition down to just $500 a semester for in-state students.
Before taking on her presidency, Spellings served as the U.S. Secretary of Education for President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2009 and as Chief Domestic Policy Advisor to the White House from 2001 to 2005. Earlier, she served as President of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas, as President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and at the state-level in Texas politics. She served as a senior advisor to then-Governor Bush of Texas, as head of governmental and external relations for the Texas Association of School Boards, and in key positions at Austin Community College and with the Texas legislature.
“North Carolina’s public universities are the lifeblood of the state. They are pillars of communities, drivers of economies, and paths to opportunity for people of every age and background. The state’s commitment to higher education is what drew me here three years ago, and it’s what propelled me forward every day on the job,” said President Spellings. “I will forever be honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve alongside our terrific chancellors, faculty, staff, students and our Boards of Trustees and Board of Governors.”
Spellings holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Houston where she received an honorary doctorate and Distinguished Alumna Award in 2006.