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UNC President And Former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings On Strategic Plan, HB2, Betsy DeVos

UNC System President Margaret Spellings
Erin Keever
UNC System President Margaret Spellings

UNC System President Margaret Spellings
Erin Keever
UNC System President Margaret Spellings

Monday, February 6, 2017

Margaret Spellings, president of the UNC system, talks about her strategic plan for the school, improving cost-efficiency and graduation rates. And chimes in on the nominee for her old job - secretary of Education.

Less than a year into her role as President of the University of North Carolina system, Margaret Spellings has set some lofty goals for her tenure.

The UNC system has a new strategic plan that aims to increase access to the University's 17 campuses, improve graduation rates and reduce achievement gaps - all while keeping college affordable and improving cost-efficiency. Big on her agenda is increasing enrollment of students from low-income and rural households. We'll talk with her about the plan and several other topics in higher education.

As former U.S. Secretary of Education under President George W. Bush, she's well-positioned to offer her perspective on the nominee to that office. We'll ask her about her endorsementof Betsy DeVos and find out what advice she may have for our next Education Secretary.

We'll also discuss the continuing impact of HB2. Spellings has said the law hurts the public university system's ability to recruit top talent and that job candidates have said no to North Carolina because of the law.

We first talked with Spellings just a few weeks into office. Now that she's had some time to settle in, Mike Collins invites her back to our studios to discuss her progress and goals for the future of the UNC system.

Guest

Margaret Spellings - President of the University of North Carolina system and Former US Secretary of Education

Copyright 2017 WFAE

Erin Keever is Senior Producer of WFAE's Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins. She joined WFAE as an intern in 2006 and has since worked as a researcher, production assistant, food blog editor, on-air announcer, and now senior producer. She's a graduate of UNC Charlotte, but before that attended UNC Greensboro where she proudly worked at her college radio station WUAG. Erin is a native Charlottean and still misses the Spaghetti Warehouse from back when SouthEnd was gritty.