Dr. Michael E. Ward is State Superintendent of Public Instruction in North Carolina. Prior to his election in 1996, he served as Executive Director of the North Carolina Standards Board for Public School Administration. Earlier posts include service as a teacher, high school principal, and local superintendent of schools. He was honored in 1994 as North Carolina’s Superintendent of the Year.A three-time graduate of North Carolina State University, Dr. Ward received the University’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1997. He serves as an adjunct professor of educational leadership in NCSU’s College of Education and Psychology.Dr. Ward has been recognized for his leadership in school-based decision-making, empowering stakeholders, and setting high standards for students, teachers, and administrators. These topics, along with his research on teacher tenure and dismissal, are the source of a number of presentations and articles, both by and about Dr. Ward., Dr. Bettye MacPhail-Wilcox is Professor Emeritus and former Head of the Department of Educational Leadership and Program Evaluation at North Carolina State University. She is past President of the American Education Finance Association from which she received the Outstanding Leadership and Service Award. At NCSU, she was awarded the Outstanding Service and Extension Award and founded the Hodnett Doctoral Fellowship in Educational Administration. She was named Outstanding Alumnus for Texas Tech University.Prior to her service at NCSU, she was a manager in the industrial sector and served as a teacher and administrator in the public schools of Virginia. In Virginia, she also served as President of the Tidewater Administrators and Supervisors. She studied at James Madison, Old Dominion, and Texas Tech Universities.
