The Hunt Institute Holds Board Meeting, Elects New Interim Chair and Chair Emeritus

DURHAM, NC 28 FEBRUARY 2022- The Hunt Institute’s Board of Directors met for their biannual meeting at the Washington Duke Inn on January 25, 2022. The Institute’s Board announced that founding Board Chair and former four-term North Carolina Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. would be stepping down as Chair, and Dr. Sam Houston was elected to serve as Interim Board Chair until a permanent Board Chair is named. Governor Jim Hunt will serve as Board Chair Emeritus.

“Though I am stepping away as Board Chair, I am still as enthusiastic as I ever was to see positive collaboration and change occur in public education,” said Governor Hunt. “We can and must do better for our nation’s children,” he added. “Leaders in politics, policy and education will have to work together if we are to achieve the promise of public education: that all children have access and opportunity to be the best they can be,” concluded Governor Hunt.

Dr. Sam Houston is President and Chief Executive Officer of the North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center. The Center is dedicated to the advancement of science, mathematics, and technology in the schools of North Carolina and around the nation. The NC STEM Learning Network operates out of the SMT Center. Prior to this appointment Dr. Houston served as Vice President for Program and Policy of EdGate, Inc. and was the first executive director of the University of North Carolina Center for School Leadership Development. A former public school teacher and veteran educational administrator, Dr. Houston also previously served as executive director of the North Carolina Education Standards and Accountability Commission at the invitation of Governor James B. Hunt Jr. The commission was charged with defining the skills that North Carolina’s students must master to compete successfully in the information economy. In 2007, Dr. Houston chaired the North Carolina State Board of Education’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Testing and Accountability.

 “Governor Hunt has been a friend of and champion for public education from the beginning of his career, during his four terms as governor and throughout his tenure has Chair of The Hunt Institute,” offered Dr. Houston. “What he has built and the leaders- throughout the nation- that he has inspired have changed the way communities and policymakers approach public education,” he continued. “Public education has had no better governor: he truly is the nation’s education governor,” concluded Dr. Houston.

“What Governor Hunt has done not only for North Carolina but the nation as well cannot be overstated,” offered Dr. Javaid Siddiqi, President and CEO of The Hunt Institute. “Through The Institute his work will continue for generations, inspiring bold leadership in leaders in every state to ensure all children receive a high-quality education,” he continued.

About The Hunt Institute

The Hunt Institute, an affiliate of the Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy, is a recognized leader in the movement to transform public education. Marshaling expertise from a nationwide partner network since its establishment in 2001, The Institute brings together people and resources that help build and nurture visionary leadership and mobilize strategic action for greater educational outcomes and student success. For more information, please visit: http://www.hunt-institute.org/

For media inquiries, please contact Seth Stephens, Director of Marketing and Communications. sstephens@hunt-institute.org or 919-630-1886