How UNC President Margaret Spellings helped turn around a struggling campus
When UNC system President Margaret Spellings announced her resignation in November, she said that the greatest successes of her tenure were access and affordability. While great advances have been made in those two critical areas, the greatest achievement of her presidency, in my view, is what she did to begin the recovery of the smallest campus in the UNC system: Elizabeth City State University.
ECSU’s student population reached a high point of 3,307 in 2010 but, after a series of setbacks, the number of students dwindled to 1,357 in 2016. Problems with leadership, security, processing admissions applications and financial aid requests, outdated training in certain academic departments, failures in meeting accreditation standards, and a decline in physical facilities, among other problems, had put the school at risk. Once the enrollment dropped below 1,800 students, the school no longer brought in sufficient tuition revenue to cover operations and was, essentially, insolvent.
When President Spellings took office in March 2016, several people, including then-Chancellor Thomas Conway, advised her of the serious difficulties at that campus. Past efforts to solve the campus’ problems had been half-hearted and lacking in either vision or a realistic view of the cost required. But she decided to tackle a huge challenge which had a high risk of failure. The president formed a task force in late 2016 under Chancellor Conway’s leadership to tackle two key areas: the school’s academic program and its physical facilities.
With support from professionals at ECSU and the UNC system, the ECSU task force developed a plan. It proposed refinancing ECSU’s outstanding bond debt by obtaining a low-interest federal loan of $37.7 million. The loan would increase the school’s annual cash flow by $7.8 million, allowing ECSU to tear down outdated buildings and make other improvements on campus that would be more attractive to prospective students.
To strengthen the academic program, the task force proposed changes to both ECSU’s school of education as well as the state’s only aviation science department. The task force also recommended establishing a Student Success Center to provide academic counseling and ultimately, improve retention and graduation rates.
While the task force was developing its plan, President Spellings and her staff committed to working closely with ECSU to boost enrollment and further training ECSU employees on best management practices. Chancellor Conway’s staff enhanced ECSU’s social media presence and increased efforts to reach out to prospective students. President Spellings held regular update meetings, visited the campus several times, and directed staff to work with personnel at other UNC schools to help where needed at ECSU. She also allocated to ECSU funding from state lawmakers to fix several inoperable residence halls.
As a result of the efforts by President Spellings and her task force, things have turned at ECSU. Changes to the academic program and physical facilities have begun and enrollment is increasing. The school’s student count this academic year is 1,677. And last week, the Board of Governors and President Spellings appointed Dr. Karrie Dixon, formerly interim chancellor, as chancellor.
Many people have been instrumental to the improvements at ECSU — devoted trustees and alumni, administrators, faculty, students, administrators, and Board of Governors members. But the recovery required a determined effort by the person serving as UNC president who, alone, could command the various resources needed to get things moving in a different trajectory.
If the rebound at ECSU continues, its supporters will look back with appreciation to the highly organized, can-do lady from Texas who had the grit and determination to develop a turnaround plan and bring together the people who could get it done. When that success occurs, all of North Carolina should be grateful to Margaret Spellings.