May 1, 2009
For Immediate Release

Spalding Inaugurated as RCCC's Third President

              KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — Approximately 400 faculty and staff members, students, delegates from other colleges and universities, local and state dignitaries and other guests watched today as Carol S. Spalding, Ed.D., was inaugurated as the third president of Rowan-Cabarrus Community, at a ceremony on the North Carolina Research Campus, in Kannapolis.

              Robert S. Misenheimer, mayor of Kannapolis, administered the oath of office, and Ray Paradowski, RCCC Board of Trustees chairman, presided over the ceremony and presented Spalding with the college's presidential medallion. Spalding then shared her vision for the college.

               "The best way to predict the future is to invent it, Spalding said. "What other community is as ambitious as this one in creating and supporting the dream for the North Carolina Research Campus and its mission to improve the quality of health for all?

              "Very soon we will have a groundbreaking for the RCCC building here on the North Carolina Research Campus that will symbolize our participation in a preferred future. We will educate and train local citizens to be prepared for the jobs of the future. Not just the technical skills that are substantial, but the critical thinking skills needed to be successful in any field. Each person will earn his or her passport to the future, and each will need to keep it current," she said.

               Delegates from 30 colleges and universities attended the inauguration and participated in the event's academic procession with RCCC faculty, trustees and administrative leaders. The A.L. Brown High School Concert Band, directed by Gordon Snyder, and Scottish Highland piper Dave McKenzie provided the event music, with Lynne Scott Safrit performing the National Anthem.

               Those offering greetings included Delores Parker, senior vice president and chief academic officer of the N.C. Community College System; Jay White, chair of the Cabarrus County Commission; Carl Ford, chair of the Rowan County Commission; N.C. Sen. Fletcher Hartsell; and David Murdock, founder of the N.C. Research Campus and owner of Castle & Cooke Inc.

               "The community college will serve as a link to, and a linchpin of, the research campus," Murdock said. "Many local residents will gain access to the opportunities created by the research campus through the programs and services of RCCC. At the same time, RCCC and its superb reputation will be a critical part of our recruitment efforts to bring more companies to the research campus.

               "Everyone here at the research campus has enjoyed working with Dr. Spalding since she came to the college. We all look forward to a continued wonderful partnership, as we seek to build a world class research hub, where collaborative science will lead the charge for great discoveries in nutrition, health and biotechnology," Murdock added.

               Spalding became the third president of RCCC on Aug. 11, 2008. She served as the Open Campus president of Florida Community College at Jacksonville (FCCJ) from 1988 until coming to RCCC. She also served as the president of the FCCJ Downtown Campus from 1998-2001 and as FCCJ interim college president in 1997. Her other college leadership experience includes serving as the first dean of the Open Campus, director of continuing education, and instructor of management at FCCJ, and as an instructor at Webster University.

               She holds a bachelor's degree in international studies from the University of Louisville in Kentucky, and a master's degree in human resources management from Pepperdine University in Santa Ana, California. She earned a doctorate in education from Columbia University in New York.

               Spalding is married to Francis Koster, Ed.D., a health care administrator, alternative energy expert and father of three grown sons and one daughter. Spalding and Koster reside in Kannapolis.

               Spalding used her inauguration as an opportunity to address the importance of increased education in the new economy.
"Now more than ever, education is a necessity and not a luxury. We need every person to develop his or her talents if we are going to remain a prosperous nation," Spalding said.

               "Community colleges are invoked at the presidential level as the next place to go for hope and opportunity. The old assumption was that you could get a good job in the textile or furniture industry and earn as much as your dad. No high school diploma was needed. We know now we have to question those assumptions."

               "In fact, we know most new jobs will require some college education after high school. This community must now change its values and beliefs to reflect the new knowledge and the new economy. The community must raise the educational aspirations of its sons and daughters and of its mothers and fathers," Spalding remarked.

              Spalding succeeds RCCC's first two presidents, C. Merrill Hamilton, who served from 1961 to1977, and Richard L. Brownell, Ed.D., who served from 1977 to 2008.

               RCCC is a comprehensive, community-based institution of higher learning, serving the citizens of Rowan and Cabarrus counties in North Carolina. RCCC is one of 58 colleges in the state-supported North Carolina Community College System.

                RCCC offers fully-accredited associate-degree programs in more than 40 areas of study, including arts and sciences, business, information technology, health and public services, and engineering technologies. RCCC also offers accredited diploma and certificate programs focused on career training, continuing education and basic skills education. RCCC provides a strong foundation and transferable credits for students moving on to four-year colleges and universities and helps adults get the additional training they need to start new careers.

               RCCC annually provides more than 2,000 course offerings, serving an overall enrollment of approximately 20,000 students. In addition, RCCC provides the education and job-training programs needed to meet many of the workforce demands of the North Carolina Research Campus being developed in Kannapolis. For complete details, see the RCCC website at www.rowancabarrus.edu.