For 43 of the NC Community College System’s 53 years, George Fouts has been at work teaching, serving as a program leader, administrator, executive vice president, interim community college president, twice, and in the System Office. Now he is leading the organization as Interim President until the State Board of Community Colleges names a replacement for Dr. R. Scott Ralls.
Mr. Fouts started his community college career as an English and philosophy instructor at Western Piedmont Community College in Morganton. In 1989, he left Western Piedmont to become special assistant to the System President, former Governor Bob Scott, and was responsible for the implementation of 33 recommendations made by the Commission on the Future of the North Carolina Community College System.
After serving as vice president for academic affairs at Wayne Community College and as executive vice president at Guilford Technical Community College, he also served as an interim president at Mayland Technical College and Roanoke-Chowan Community College. In January 2015 he was awarded the I.E. Ready Award by the North Carolina State Board of Community College for his contributions to the system, the highest honor bestowed on an individual by the State Board.
Dr. Scott Ralls, who served as the seventh president of the System from 2008-2015, said goodbye to the State of North Carolina on September 1, as he left for a new position as President of North Virginia Community College.
Under Dr. Ralls’ leadership, the NC Community College System revamped two and signed two new articulation agreements with the 16 UNC Colleges and Independent Colleges and Universities, and Nursing and Engineering; led the SuccessNC Strategic plan which is known for initiatives such as Career and College Promise and Data Initiative and launched a new collaborative workforce strategic plan called Align4NCWorks.
During Dr. Ralls’ tenure, the System also achieved over $100 million dollars in enrollment growth funding in a single year, fostering what is now $24 million in performance funding, achieving the first weighted funding in our System’s history for technical education, obtaining recurring appropriations for the minority male mentoring program, significantly increasing equipment funding, getting a toe-hold on year-round funding which will hopefully be solidified at the close of the 2015 session, and plowing savings generated from developmental education redesign into health care and technical education programs through the “Closing the Skills Gap Initiative” which Governor McCrory helped champion.