The North Carolina Board of Community Colleges has picked a new president to lead the system.
After a months-long national search, board members selected Monty Sullivan to oversee the system’s 58 colleges serving 600,000 students.
He led the Louisiana Community and Technical College System for more than a decade before retiring in January. Under his leadership, annual graduates nearly doubled, and foundation assets tripled, according to a press release.
“North Carolina’s Community College System has built something the rest of the country watches,” Sullivan said in the release. “That work happens across North Carolina — in welding labs, nursing programs, and early college classrooms. I’m committed to reaching every student who wants a better job and every employer who can’t find enough skilled workers."
At a recent state board meeting, Chair Tom Looney pulled back the curtain on the selection process. He said they were looking for someone with a bias for action, a team builder and “a courageous and humble decision-maker.”
“I think most of our college presidents, if you look at them, if not all, are humble leaders, and that was one of the things we looked hard at as we made this decision as a board," Looney said.
Sullivan’s nomination will now go to the North Carolina General Assembly for approval. A start date has not been set.