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N.C. Community College System appoints new president

Williamson is the current president and CEO of the South Carolina Technical College System.

George Fouts, interim president of the N.C. Community College System, said he was not involved in the search process but thinks Williamson is outstanding for the job.

“The state board has chosen well, and I told Dr. Williamson Thursday after the board meeting that I think he is an ideal candidate for this position,” he said.

Former president Scott Ralls — who left the position in September — said Williamson’s experience in the private industry gives him a unique skill set that will allow him to handle the position’s complexity.

“It’s a very complex system, so it’s a system where you have to know a little bit about a lot of things,” he said.

“You have to understand how colleges work, when you need to push things and when you need to get out of the way of things.”

Ralls also said it will be important for Williamson to build relationships.

“You need to understand how to collaborate with partners — particularly education partners like public schools and universities,” he said.

Ralls said the N.C. Community College System has a relationship with the UNC-system that dates back to when communities colleges were founded in the ’60s.

“It’s a very unique and very strong and I would say deep relationship,” he said. “Across the country, I think it’s one of the best relationships amongst community colleges and universities.”

Joni Worthington, spokesperson for the UNC system, said in an email that UNC and North Carolina community colleges play different but complementary roles in providing education to the state’s workforce.

“N.C. community colleges account for more than half of all UNC transfer students, and more than 24,000 students who began their studies at a N.C. community college are now undergraduates on a UNC campus,” she said in an email.

Worthington said collaborations and partnerships between the two systems have grown in recent years.

“Going forward, we certainly expect to work with Dr. Williamson and his staff to strengthen current relationships and build on past efforts,” she said.

Fouts, who did not apply for the full-time position, said the major initiatives he has overseen this past year — including the bond campaign that was featured on this year’s primaries — have caused challenges.

“Interim presidents hope that the period is going to be calm seas and following winds as the sailors say, but this one hasn’t been that way because we’ve had so many issues,” he said.

Ralls said his personal desire to get closer to students and the excitement of college is what motivated him to leave the system president role.

“When you’re the system president, it’s a little more like being the league commissioner as opposed to being the head coach of the football team,” he said.

@kentomcdonaldstate@dailytarheel.com

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