New UNC chief Spellings visits Fayetteville State
FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- New UNC system president Margaret Spellings visited Fayetteville State University on Wednesday as the first stop in her tour of all 17 campuses in the state system.
It was her second day on the job and she spent it touring FSU, going into classrooms and buildings, talking with students and even reading to young children at the early learning center. She called Fayetteville State a good investment for students and the community.
As for a legislative proposal to change the university's name to UNC-Fayetteville, she said that needs to be a local decision.
President Spellings will be on the campus through Friday when she will attend the Board of Governors meeting, and there is no word whether any protests are planned.
Spellings is a former U.S. secretary of education for President George W. Bush. Students and faculty have raised questions about her background, including her tenure as education secretary during the implementation of the No Child Left Behind law.
Protests occurred during Spellings' first day on Tuesday. Students at UNC-Chapel Hill, Appalachian State University, N.C. A&T State University, UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro and UNC Wilmington assembled for protests.
At Chapel Hill, several hundred people assembled on the quad at lunch time as 80 protesters led chants.
Spellings said Tuesday that she wasn't rattled by the protests, saying "it's just life in public service these days."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
