NC Awards Nomination of Dr Dudley Flood Coverletter
April 15, 2021
The Public School Forum of North Carolina
3725 National Drive, Suite 101
Raleigh, NC 27612
919-781-6833
To the North Carolina Awards Selection Committee,
The Public School Forum is honored to nominate Dr. Dudley Flood as a recipient of the 2021 NC Awards for Public Service.
Throughout the past fifty years, Dr. Dudley E. Flood has been at the forefront of ensuring that our education system provides equitable resources and opportunities for students across the state. In the years following the Brown v. Board of Education decision, Dr. Flood traveled to every corner of our state to unite divided communities and work toward integrating our public schools. The impact of his work is still being felt today, as Dr. Flood continues to be engaged in efforts to ensure equity for all students. Dr. Flood continues to encourage engagement of all stakeholders with a specific focus on student voice as a key to understanding what we need to do for our students, our communities, and our state.
Born in Winton, North Carolina, a small town located in Hertford County, his humble beginnings and family values and his commitment to his faith and becoming a servant leader grounded him in the importance of education. Encouraged by his parents, especially his mother who also was an educator, he would earn his bachelor’s degree at NC Central University, master’s degree at East Carolina University, and doctoral degree at Duke University.
Dr. Flood’s career first began as a teacher, coach, and school principal of grades 1-12 public school. These experiences allowed him to understand the intricacies of the learning process and the essential role that high expectations and developing strong relationships play in helping every child reach their fullest potential. As a result of his accomplishments as an educator, he was then selected to serve as an Assistant Superintendent for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI). At a critical time in North Carolina's history, Dr. Flood was promoted to the position of Associate State Superintendent and was charged to lead North Carolina’s initial effort in school desegregation and race relations. He and his close teammate, Dr. Gene Causby, served as the two state level school leaders charged with traveling across North Carolina helping schools and communities navigate the tense situations caused by desegregation as it became the law of the land in North Carolina and the United States. After 21 years of service to DPI, Dr. Flood retired and assumed the role as the Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of School Administrators in 1990.
Dr. Flood has continued to stay involved in public service and the pursuit of education equity. He served for twelve years on the Board of Governors for the UNC System. Currently, to name a few, he remains active as a Board Member for the Public School Forum of North Carolina, the Flood Center Advisory Board, the NC Minority Prostate Cancer Awareness Team, the Wake Education Partnership Leadership Council, and the UNC Press Advancement Council. He is also a member of the prestigious Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity. In addition, he is an active member of the Martin Street Baptist Church in Raleigh where he has served as a Sunday School teacher.
Continuing the legacy of his work, Dr. Flood has been honored by the creation of the Dr. Dudley E. Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity at the Public School Forum of North Carolina. His legendary commitment to school integration and his belief that every child deserves equitable educational opportunity serves as the foundation and beacon for the work of the Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity. The Flood Center endeavors to continue this work by informing discussions on policies impacting equity and social justice, supporting and advancing equity-focused educator programming, and promoting discussions around how schools are funded at the local and state levels, in hopes of achieving equity, access, and opportunity for all young people in North Carolina.
Over the span of his career, Dr. Flood has received over 350 awards for his civic services. These include the Order of the Long Leaf Pine (North Carolina’s highest civic award) presented by three Governors, Governor James G. Martin, Governor James B. Hunt, Jr., and Governor Mike Easley. On November 19, 2020, he was honored as the 2020 Friday Medal Award recipient (see link to the award presentation, background on Dr. Flood, and his acceptance remarks as the dream lives on) presented by the William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University. Most recently, on January 18, 2021, he was recognized by the North Carolina School and Science and Mathematics as its Martin Luther King, Jr. “Keeper of the Dream Award” recipient for his sustained leadership and engagement as a champion of educational equity and social justice.
In closing, as impressive as Dr. Flood’s achievements and awards are, it is his current engagement and deep level of commitment to equity that most qualifies him to be worthy of your prestigious recognition. As Dr. Flood recently reminded us all that the, “great motivator is possibility… we are not there yet. We will get there, but we will only do that if we keep the faith and believe that there is a destination.”
Respectfully,
Thomas J. Williams, EdD
Board Chairman, Public School Forum of NC
Mary Ann Wolf, PhD
President & Executive Director, Public School Forum of NC