CHAPEL HILL (October 13, 2016) – At her inauguration today, the 18^th president of the University of North Carolina system left no doubt about her view on access to a college education.

“Together, we can make some form of higher education our higher expectation for every person in North Carolina,” President Margaret Spellings told the audience at UNC Chapel Hill’s Memorial Hall.

As President of the UNC system, Spellings will be responsible for 225,000 students at 17 campuses that stretch from Elizabeth City to Cullowhee.

In an address delivered TED Talk-style – with no podium and with graphics supplied by the UNC School of the Arts flashing behind her – Spellings cited the state constitution’s 1776 assertion that “all useful learning” is encouraged at state universities.  And she applied it to the 21^st century.

“The best jobs of the future demand education beyond high school,” she said.

“We have one of the finest university systems in the nation, but we also have too many citizens whose lives and ambitions are limited by geography, by income, by struggling K-12 schools, or by tuition that seems out of reach. We are leaving behind thousands of capable students who never even apply to college because it doesn’t seem possible for them.  That’s a tragic waste of talent, and we must do something about that.

“It’s time to raise our expectations once again.  Higher education is the next frontier — a new civil right.  Every child must be able to reach beyond high school — that has to become our expectation, our promise for a rising generation.  That may mean a four-year degree, a master’s or a doctorate; it could mean an associate degree or a professional credential.”

Spellings also noted that the state constitution requires the state to provide North Carolinians a quality education for as free as “practicable.”

“Are we keeping that historic promise?  Are we living up that ideal?” she asked.

While the state’s public universities remain “a remarkable value” thanks to strong state support, she said, they too often seem out of reach for rural, poor, minority and first-generation students.

While state leaders of the 18^th century recognized that higher education is fundamental to a free society, she said, “It’s plainly needed if our state and our people are to thrive in the 21^st century.”

Spellings is a native of Texas who served as President George W. Bush’s Secretary of Education from 2005-2009.

A video welcome before her address featured testimonials from former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Gov. Jim Hunt, as well as former Presidents Bill Clinton and Bush.

Bush noted that Spellings served as President of the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

“She did a fine job – until you stole her,” he quipped.

Spellings laced her remarks with her own characteristic humor.  She noted that when her daughters traveled to Chapel Hill with her when she assumed the president’s job in March, the family had come full circle.

“The kids dropped their mother off at college, hoping that I’d make a few friends and figure out how to fit in,” she said.

Spellings referred to an educated population as “a public good in every sense” and said the diverse missions of the system’s campuses equip it to take on the world’s biggest challenges.

“With 17 institutions working toward a shared vision, we have the scale and the imagination to tackle any problem,” she said.

“There is strong disagreement in our democracy today – but not about this,” she said. “Not about the benefit we all gain from strong colleges and universities.”