Longtime NC education leader JB Buxton is named new president of Durham Tech
JB Buxton, an education consultant and former deputy state superintendent, has been named the new president of Durham Technical Community College.
Buxton was approved Friday by the N.C. Board of Community Colleges following a nationwide search that drew 140 candidates hoping to become the fifth president of Durham Tech. Buxton will start in mid-July and replace William Ingram, who is stepping down June 30 after 12 years leading the college.
“J.B. cares deeply about people and educational excellence,” John F. Burness, the chairman of Durham Tech’s board of trustees, said in an email Friday to the school community. “We were impressed by his creative and collaborative approach to leadership, his record of commitment to social justice and appreciation of the unique role Durham Tech must play in helping ensure all Durham and Orange County residents can access an educational and workforce training ecosystem that enables them to maximize their human potential and quality of life.”
Buxton will lead a college that serves more than 18,000 students at seven locations in Durham and Orange counties and online.
Buxton is a longtime leader in public education. Most recently, he’s been a member of the State Board of Education and helped launch a charter school in Southeast Raleigh. He also runs an education consulting firm and previously worked as deputy state superintendent and as an education adviser to former Gov. Mike Easley.
He also was an adjunct assistant teaching professor in the public policy department at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Durham Tech leaders pointed to Buxton’s work at the state level leading the effort to implement early college high schools across North Carolina. These programs help high school students graduate with a diploma and up to two years of college credit.
“I am excited to join an institution that values equity and inclusion, student success and innovation,” Buxton said in a news release. “As Durham and Orange counties confront the challenges of COVID-19, economic uncertainty and continuing racial discrimination, Durham Tech is positioned to be a force for progress.”
