Dean’s List: Former state senator tapped to lead App State chancellor search committee
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It’s a season of new chancellors in the UNC System. New leaders have been named at four universities this year, and searches for three others are in progress or soon-to-begin.
One of those searches, at Appalachian State University, is one step closer to kicking off after UNC System President Peter Hans last week named the committee tasked with finding the school’s next chancellor. Chancellor Sheri Everts resigned in April citing health reasons.
Unlike other recent chancellor searches, the App State committee will be led not by the chair of the university’s Board of Trustees or an alumnus — but instead by Deanna Ballard, former Republican state senator who represented Watauga County from 2016 to 2023 and helped write the controversial Parents’ Bill of Rights.
Ballard was also a candidate for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in the March primary.
“I’m no stranger to climbing these mountains, & look forward to scaling new heights with faculty, staff, students, trustees & alumni as we consider the range of talents & skills needed in our next chancellor,” Ballard said on X, formerly Twitter. “#AppNation, we’ve got your back!”
Who else will join Ballard on the 13-member committee?
Welcome to Dean’s List, a roundup of higher education news in the Triangle and across North Carolina from The News & Observer and myself, Korie Dean.
This week’s edition includes more information about the other members of the App State search committee, new faces on college governing boards and a grant for nursing education at UNC Greensboro.
Committee named for App State chancellor search
Per UNC System policy, chancellor search committees must consist of no more than 13 members. Those members must include the UNC System president or a designee, members of the system Board of Governors and campus Board of Trustees, another UNC System chancellor and representatives of faculty, staff, students and alumni.
In addition to Ballard, the committee for App State’s search will include the following members:
Peter Hans, UNC System president
Wendy Murphy, UNC Board of Governors chair
Philip Byers, App State alumnus and Board of Governors campus liaison for the university
Mark Ricks, App State alumnus and Board of Trustees chair
Tommy Sofield Jr., App State alumnus and Board of Trustees vice chair
Scott Lampe, App State alumnus and Board of Trustees member
Kimberly van Noort, chancellor of UNC Asheville
Jacqui Bergman, Faculty Senate chair, professor, Department of Management
Kathryn Long, student body president
Courtney Thompson, App State alumna and staff representative
Brandon Adcock, App State alumnus; CEO of Wellful, Inc. and co-founder of Adaptive Health
Brad Wilson, App State alumnus; CEO Emeritus of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina
In a news release, Hans said he was “grateful” to Ballard for agreeing to chair the committee, and thanked Ricks for “his stalwart support of his alma mater.”
Ballard “has strong ties to the Boone community and has been one of App State’s biggest champions,” Hans said.
In her bid this year for lieutenant governor, Ballard cited education as one of the top issues she wanted to address if elected. In an N&O candidate questionnaire, she touted her Senate record of “championing school choice” and her role in writing an initial version of the state’s Parents’ Bill of Rights.
The version of the bill that Ballard authored — which went through the Senate in 2022 but which the House did not take up that year — would have required notifying parents of “changes in the name or pronoun used for a student” at school, and would ban “instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity” in K-3 curriculum, The N&O previously reported.
Critics said the bill would have forced teachers to “out” students’ gender identities to parents, and would place an “undue burden” on teachers. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper compared the legislation to Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Ballard defended the bill by saying it would not prohibit or restrict conversations about gender and sexuality in classrooms.
“If a teacher has a same-sex partner, we’re not stifling discussion,” she said in 2022.
A slightly different version of the bill became law last year after Republicans in the General Assembly voted to override Cooper’s veto of it.
Ballard also touts her role in going “toe-to-toe” with Cooper and former state Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen “by passing landmark legislation ordering the schools reopened” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On her campaign website, Ballard cited her efforts on the Parents’ Bill of Rights, school choice and reopening schools as examples of her work “protecting kids from the woke agenda” — which she also listed as a key campaign issue. She also aligned herself with Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, saying she, like him, “believes schools should focus on reading, writing, and math, NOT political indoctrination.”
On higher education, Ballard said in her N&O candidate questionnaire that she supports “economic policies that focus on skills training and don’t center on a college education.”
“Too many students take on crushing student loan debt — and for what? Often, a job that pays less than ‘blue collar’ work,” Ballard said.
Prior to serving in the Senate, Ballard worked in the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the White House during George W. Bush’s administration. She attended Belmont University in Nashville.
The App State chancellor search committee’s first meeting has not been announced. Per the UNC System’s news release, information about the search will soon be available on the university’s website.
NC House, Senate appoint new college governing board members
In addition to Ballard being tapped to serve on the chancellor search committee at App State, she also received another higher education-related appointment last week.
In the General Assembly’s annual appointments bill, Republican Senate leader Phil Berger appointed Ballard to the NCInnovation board for a term that will expire next September. NCInnovation, formed in 2020, is the nonprofit that aims to help researchers in the UNC System turn their ideas into revenue-generating businesses. The group received $250 million in last year’s state budget.
The bill also included appointments for other former lawmakers and recent candidates:
Former Republican Rep. Jon Hardister to fill a vacant seat on the Western Carolina University Board of Trustees, per a nomination from Republican House Speaker Tim Moore. Hardister, who represented Guilford County in the General Assembly beginning in 2012, resigned from the legislature in March. He unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for state labor commissioner in the March primary.
DeVan Barbour, who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination in the 13th district congressional primary, will join the Johnston Community College Board of Trustees, per a nomination from Berger. His term will end in 2028.
Richard Stevens, a former Republican state Senator and member of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, will join the UNC Health Care System Board of Directors, per a nomination from Moore. His term will end in 2028.
UNC Greensboro gets millions for nursing
UNC Greensboro has been awarded more than $2.4 million to expand its nursing programs and enroll more students.
The funds stem from a legislative initiative to increase the number of nursing graduates from the UNC System. The UNC System accepted proposals from universities for funds this spring, with maximum possible awards of $3 million per school.
With the help of the funds, UNCG anticipates enrollment in its bachelor of science in nursing program growing by 50% over two years, as well as welcoming dozens of students to its master of science in nursing program, according to a news release. The funding will also help the university recruit and retain nursing faculty, and hire additional support staff, such as academic advisors, School of Nursing Dean Debra Barksdale said.
“We welcome, and appreciate, the opportunity to educate more nurses to meet the needs of North Carolina,” UNCG Chancellor Franklin Gilliam said in a news release. “Our School of Nursing has long been ranked as a leader in the state and nationally, and this investment in our faculty, clinical partnerships, and facilities will further enhance the student experience as we prepare the next generation of nurses.”
Higher ed news I’m reading
Utah’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which went into effect this week, does not prohibit cultural centers. But many schools are closing them anyway, Inside Higher Ed reports.
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