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| George Fouts |
"JAMESTOWN, N.C. — The State
Board of Community Colleges has announced George Fouts as the recipient of the
I.E. Ready Award, the highest honor bestowed on an individual by the Board.
Named for Isaac Epps Ready, the first state director of the North Carolina
Community College System, the award was created in 1983 to recognize
individuals who have made significant, statewide contributions to the
establishment, development or enhancement of the North Carolina Community
College System.
Fouts of Jamestown, N.C. served two
terms (1991-1994; 1997-2001) as executive vice president at Guilford Technical
Community College. He retired to pursue teaching Development Education as an
adjunct instructor (2002-2010) at GTCC and became the grant coordinator of the
Developmental Education Initiative (2009-2010), a three-year effort (2009-2012)
to make developmental education more effective and efficient in order to help
underprepared students get on the completion track.
A teacher, mentor and leader, Fouts’
career in the N.C. Community College System and his major contributions span
more than 40 years.
"It has been my good fortune
to work for a System that provides an opportunity for so many North Carolinians
to improve their lives and, in doing so, to improve the future of our state,"
Fouts said.
One of Fouts’ most significant
contributions at GTCC was his expertise and guidance in the grant application
process for Completion by Design (CbD), a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
initiative to increase graduation and completion rates among young, low-income
students nationwide. As a result of his involvement, North Carolina became one
of only three states to receive the competitive grant in May 2011.
Shortly after, the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation named Fouts as senior partner for the cadre of North
Carolina community colleges participating in Completion by Design. He became a
nationally recognized consultant, who guided each institution in adopting a
culture dedicated to student completion as well as counseled and empowered
presidents and their teams to carry out CbD’s mission. His leadership and expertise
were critical to the administration of CbD – both statewide and nationwide. Fouts
retired from the position in 2013.
“George helped the colleges see the
interconnections between CbD and all of their student success initiatives,”
said GTCC President Dr. Randy Parker. “The implementation of Completion by
Design is the crown jewel in George’s lifelong contribution to the founding
principles of the North Carolina Community College System.”
A native of Thomasville, N.C.,
Fouts’ career in the N.C. Community College System began in 1973 as an
instructor of English and philosophy at Western Piedmont Community College and
eventually became executive vice president in 1983. He went on to serve as
interim president of Mayland Community College and Roanoke-Chowan Community
College, which he effectively led through particularly challenging times.
In 1989, he became special
assistant to the president of the N.C. Community College System and coordinated
the implementation of goals recommended by the Commission on the Future of the
N.C. Community College System, creating much of the standardization that marks
the System today.
“The work that our community
colleges do is vital to ensuring that North Carolina has a skilled workforce,”
said State Board Chair, Dr. Linwood Powell. “The recipients of these awards
embody the foundation that North Carolina’s Community College System was built
on – providing opportunities for education to all North Carolinians, taking
students from where they are, as far as they can go.”
Guilford Technical Community College is the third
largest of 58 institutions in the NC Community College System. GTCC serves more
than 40,000 students annually from five campuses and a Small Business Center. Learn
more at www.gtcc.edu.
- A Press Release
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