Title: President
Company: Rowan-Cabarrus Community College
Location: Kannapolis, North Carolina, United States
Carol S. Spalding, EdD, president of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements, and leadership in higher education and administration.
Dr. Spalding’s 50-year journey in education began in 1975 when, as a new Navy wife in a new community, she struggled to find a job. A friend suggested she seek work at a local community college, the Florida State College of Jacksonville, formerly the Florida Community College of Jacksonville. Dr. Spalding joined that institution in 1975 as the overseer of grant-funded programs. Across the next 30 years, she was promoted to director of continuing education for the Open Campus and president of the Open Campus.
While her career has been filled with many noteworthy accomplishments, Dr. Spalding is particularly proud of her efforts in the aforementioned Open Campus program at the Florida Community College of Jacksonville. She worked with a team in building this initiative from the ground up, collaborating with more than 1,000 people across two years. Under Dr. Spalding’s guidance, the Open Campus program opened up adult education opportunities to more students than ever while serving the wider Jacksonville community. She notes the importance of building partnerships throughout the community, fondly looking back on her work with Jacksonville’s mayor, which led to the city hosting the Super Bowl in 2005.
Since 2008, Dr. Spalding has served as the president of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, an institution located in North Carolina. Through this position, she facilitates the education of 20,000 students annually across seven campuses. Dr. Spalding continues to prioritize making continuing education more accessible, especially at a time when many avenues of higher education are more expensive than ever. Among her achievements at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, she celebrates the recent groundbreaking for a new truck driving program, wherein she secured $9 million in funding to build a driving pad that will allow for extensive job training in the future.
Prior to embarking upon her professional path, Dr. Spalding set the foundation for success through her own education. Her academic journey started with a Bachelor of Arts in international relations and affairs from the University of Louisville in 1971. In 1986, Dr. Spalding obtained a master’s degree in human resource management from Pepperdine University. Subsequently, she earned a Doctor of Education in educational leadership from Columbia University in 2003.
Long dedicated to civic advocacy, Dr. Spalding has committed herself to uplifting others whenever possible. While at the Florida Community College of Jacksonville, she contributed as a board member and board chair for Leadership Jacksonville, a group that supports growth in the city. Dr. Spalding has also served as a board member of the Harvard Management of Lifelong Learning Advisory Board, chair of the Jackson Transportation Authority Board, board chair of the National Association for Community Leadership, a board member of the Instructional Technology Council and chair of the David H. Murdock Research Institute. From 1983 to 2008, she hosted “Politics Is Your Business,” a local television show associated with the League of Women Voters.
In addition to her primary vocation, Dr. Spalding is a loving wife, mother to four and grandmother to seven. She remains dedicated to her decades-long legacy of supporting continuing education for the foreseeable future.
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