President C.D. Spangler Jr., brings a businessman’s sensibilities to his role as leader of the state’s public higher education system. Spangler steadfastly believes in every North Carolinian’s constitutional right to affordable public higher education. During his tenure, he refuses a presidential salary, famously opting to instead donate the money to the System’s campuses.
Born in Charlotte, Spangler spent his formative years as a student at Dilworth Elementary and Alexander Graham before attending Woodberry Forest School, a boy’s prep school in Virginia. He enrolled at UNC-Chapel Hill for his undergraduate degree, going on to Harvard Business School for graduate studies. A billionaire businessman, Spangler devoted much of his career to public education, serving as vice chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board in the 1970s and helping steer the district through a tumultuous period of integration. He also chaired the State Board of Education before going on to become president of the UNC System in 1986.