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Thursday, November 20, 2008 10:32 AM Jim Hunt receives Friday award By Matt Shaw | Times Staff Writer RALEIGH -- Just as North Carolina improved its schools under his watch, former Gov. Jim Hunt believes our next president can lead the nation's students to better performance. "I am hopeful because Barack Obama has put such a priority on education. He talked about it at every campaign stop and made 12 major speeches just about education," Hunt said Wednesday evening. "If we put the right emphasis on education," he said, "we will have the resources to do all the other things we need to do." Hunt spoke Wednesday at The William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation on N.C. State University's Centennial Campus were he received the Friday Medal for his lifetime contributions to the state's schools and universities. Now, Hunt, 71, of Rock Ridge, is working on an even larger stage -- as an adviser to the president-elect's educational policy. Hunt's contributions to education nationwide were noted by the award's namesake. Friday said he and Hunt have had a long friendship. "It's been a partnership, a very rich, very rewarding relationship for me," Bill Friday said on his 50-year friendship with Hunt, dating back to Hunt's two terms as student body president at N.C. State University. "If you are a believer in the American story, that you can succeed through hard work, here is your proof," said Friday, former UNC system president. "He came from the soil of Wilson County, and now he's sitting in the Oval Office with the president of the United States, telling him what needs to be done to underpin the future of this country." Hunt was mentioned earlier this month as a possible candidate for U.S. secretary of education, but he reaffirmed Wednesday night that he isn't seeking that cabinet seat. "The president-elect has asked me to advise him so I will have a role. I'm not going to move to Washington, but I'll gladly travel there and help in any way needed," Hunt said in a press conference following the event. "I know all the candidates for education secretary -- they're all good people," he said. During his speech, Hunt said Obama has the proper background to understand the importance of education. Obama worked hard to succeed in school, including finishing at the top of his class in Harvard Law School. But he also worked the streets of Chicago, including in many economically depressed neighborhoods, Hunt said. "He knows something about poor schools. ... It makes him angry that kids have to go to them," he said. Obama has called the achievement gap between wealthy and poor students "morally unacceptable and economically untenable," Hunt said. The public school problems defy simple solutions, Hunt said. Obama's comprehensive education plan calls for these goals: * Investment in early childhood education programs, like the Hunt-initiated Smart Start program or Gov. Mike Easley's More at Four. Obama has said he'd invest $10 billion to expand these types of programs. * Recruitment of "an army of excellent, new teachers," especially to work in high-need schools. Math and science teachers are an especially high priority. * Increased pay for high-performing teachers, plus plans to identify low-performing teachers for re-training or re-assignment. * Setting higher student standards. * Making college affordable for all those who want to attend. That may include forgiveness of college loans for graduates who enter careers of public service. The Friday Medal is given each year to a leader with significant, distinguished and enduring contributions in education. Hunt was North Carolina's governor from 1977-1985 and then 1993-2001. He also served as lieutenant governor from 1973 to 1977. As governor, he developed the state's Smart Start early childhood program, pushed for higher standards for student performance and called for higher certification standards and pay for teachers. Since leaving office, he has served on the federal Commission on the Future of Higher Education assembled by Margaret Spellings, Bush's education secretary. He is chairman of the board and a founder of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, a California-based think tank. He also serves as board chairman of the James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy, a University of North Carolina institute with a mission of improving K-12 education nationally. mshaw@wilsontimes.com | 265-7878 |
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