NC Awards Support Letter of Gov Hunt

Dear Selection Committee Members:

Over the years, it has been my honor to write letters in support of nominees for North Carolina’s highest awards. I have not had occasion to do so with any greater enthusiasm than is the case now as I submit this letter in support of Dudley E. Flood’s nomination for the North Carolina Awards.

Dr. Flood is a lifelong North Carolinian who has had a profound impact upon the state and upon the community. Born in humble circumstances in the Hertford County community of Winton, he earned a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina Central University, a master’s degree from East Carolina university, and a doctorate from Duke University. He went on to become one of North Carolina’s most revered educators and public servants.

As an educator, Dr. Flood has lived out the belief that high expectations and strong relationships bring out the best in children. This belief permeated his work as Associate State Superintendent at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. He and Dr. Gene Causby led a statewide effort to help schools and communities deal with challenges that arose in the years that followed school desegregation. He retired after 21 years at the Department of Public Instruction and then served as the executive director of the North Carolina Association of School Administrators.

Dr. Flood is a gifted communicator. He has traveled North Carolina and the world to share a message of profound hope about who we might become if we create a more just society. He has spoken in every North Carolina county, in 48 of the 50 states, and in other nations. He has authored three books and dozens of articles. His ongoing work, much of it voluntary, in multiple organizations continues to provide encouragement to schools and communities. One example is the Flood Group, which was created out of concern about the underperformance of minority and poor children in public schools. With Dr. Flood as a guiding force, the group develops programs and outreach activities to inform and engage community members on this issue.

Other examples of Dr. Flood’s continuing impact include the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity, hosted by the Public School Forum of North Carolina, which advances system change, public policy, and equity-centered programs. He is a member of and consultant to the board of the Public School Forum of North Carolina. Additionally, he has been a member of the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina, the board the North Carolina Minority Prostate Cancer Awareness Team, and the University of North Carolina Press Advancement Council. He is a longtime member of the Sigma Pi Phi and Phi Beta Sigma fraternities and an active member of the Martin Street Baptist Church in Raleigh.

Dr. Flood’s work has earned him literally hundreds of awards, including the 2020 Friday Medal, which is presented by North Carolina State University’s William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. He has also received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, which was presented to him by Governors Martin, Easley, and myself.

Dr. Flood’s tireless commitment to advancing racial understanding and a more just North Carolina have made our schools and our communities better places. As a leader in helping schools achieve the goals of desegregation and as a continuing leader in matters of justice, he has been a bridge between where our state was, where we are now, and most importantly, where we must go to ensure educational equity among North Carolina’s diverse students and communities.

We still have a great distance to go for equal and excellent education for “all of our people.” But in my opinion no one in North Carolina history has done more than Dudley Flood to point the way and gently (but firmly) push us to become what we can be, should be, and must be.

I urge you to give every possible consideration to Dr. Dudley E. Flood’s nomination for the North Carolina Awards. If I can provide additional information, please don’t hesitate to be in touch.

James B. Hunt, Jr.
Governor of North Carolina
1977-85, 1993-2001