The day that North Carolina’s State Board of Community Colleges announced the selection of Dr. Monty Sullivan as the next system president and CEO, Sullivan’s wife, Kelley, wrote on Facebook: “The community college mission is in our DNA.”
In an interview with EdNC, Sullivan echoed that sentiment. His father left school in sixth grade, and his mother earned a high school diploma. Both made their living largely through short-term, industry-based certifications. Kelley is also a community college graduate having completed a registered nursing program after dropping out of high school.
“We don’t just work in this sector. We live it every day. We live the mission of the community college,” Sullivan said. “We are bringing that mindset to the state of North Carolina — opportunity for people to be educated and skilled.”
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Prior to his retirement in January, Sullivan spent the last 12 years leading Louisiana’s community college system, comprised of 12 community and technical colleges that enroll roughly 150,000 students. Before that, he held leadership roles in Virginia’s community college system.
Sullivan’s nomination now goes to the General Assembly for confirmation. The N.C. Community College System (NCCCS) anticipates that Sullivan will serve as acting president while legislators consider the nomination.
As Sullivan awaits confirmation, he expressed excitement about the opportunity to put down roots in Raleigh, invest in the community, and show his four children and six grandchildren the state.
“There’s no place in the country that has more to offer than North Carolina,” he said.
‘North Carolina is poised to lead the nation’
Sullivan’s selection comes at a pivotal moment for the state’s 58 community colleges.
The state budget, signed into law on July 7, made historic investments in the community college system, appropriating $1.86 billion plus $518 million in receipts. Among other things, the budget includes funding for Propel NC, a new funding model aligned with labor market demand, pay raises for employees, funds for ApprenticeshipNC, and investments in other workforce programs.
At the same time, the NCCCS is undergoing a major technology transformation and finalizing the development of a new 2026-29 strategic plan.
“The General Assembly has committed significant resources to this mission — the point of excitement is now. The point of opportunity is now,” Sullivan said. “North Carolina is poised to lead the nation in workforce development and community college education. We want to be a part of that.”
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A key leader in Workforce Pell
The selection also coincides with the implementation of Workforce Pell, an expansion of federal Pell Grants for certain short-term workforce training programs. Under the legislation that created Workforce Pell, states were given significant responsibility in determining which programs qualify and how outcomes are measured, creating an opportunity for states to shape how the program is implemented. In June, North Carolina became one of the first states to open Workforce Pell applications, with the first programs set to be approved in August.
Sullivan is particularly well-positioned to lead the system through the implementation of Workforce Pell — he spent years advocating for its creation, including testifying in front of Congress, and has been cited as a key leader in persuading Congress to adopt it.
“The excitement for me is having the national perspective of having worked on Workforce Pell over the last decade, and finally seeing Congress move it to fruition. Now we have both a funding stream from the federal level, [and] the right policy environment with Propel NC,” he said.
In February 2023 written testimony to the House Committee on Education and Workforce, Sullivan wrote: “The single most important step Congress can take in helping address our nation’s skill shortage is to immediately authorize the use of Pell Grants for workforce programs.”
He continued by sharing outcomes in Louisiana, where students completing short-term credentials experienced strong job placement rates and an earnings premium greater than the initial earnings of students in traditional credit-bearing programs that were already Pell-eligible.
“Clearly, these credentials are demonstrating value to employers. Yet those shorter-term programs, with clear value in the market, are reserved for those who have money in their pocket and do not need to rely on a Pell Grant for their education,” Sullivan said. “Effectively, we are limiting the ability for a broad swath of Americans to quickly gain the skills needed to obtain a good job.”
You can watch Sullivan’s testimony below, beginning at 8:55.
A track record of increasing attainment and investing in adult learners
As progress continues toward meeting North Carolina’s attainment goal — 2 million adults ages 25 to 44 with a degree or industry-valued credential by 2030 — Sullivan’s leadership will be informed by experiences in Louisiana that included a focus on increasing short-term credential attainment, particularly for adult learners.
During his tenure as head of Louisiana community college’s, the system nearly doubled its number of graduates. Sullivan said that growth was largely driven by increased attainment of short-term credentials that move students into jobs more quickly than degree programs — an option that is particularly important for adult learners who often balance postsecondary training with work and family obligations.
Sullivan said adults without a high school diploma, or with a diploma but no postsecondary credential, have historically been thought of as “hard to serve.”
“That’s not true. Those individuals can be taught … and they become some of the best technicians we could put into the field,” he said.
Sullivan also noted the increasing importance of stackable credentials, which allow students to gain skills, go to work, come back for additional education, and go back to work — which he described as a more iterative process and “less of a one-shot deal.”
“That allows us to continue to be the institutions aligned with North Carolina’s economy,” Sullivan said. “These individuals, regardless of whether they are on a short-term certification or baccalaureate degree, coming back for more education is going to be necessary. … AI is changing the world around us, and certainly it will require more education, not less.”
In Louisiana, Sullivan also championed the creation of the M.J. Foster Promise Program, a state-funded scholarship that covers tuition and fees for adult learners. In a 2021 interview about the scholarship, Sullivan emphasized the program’s alignment with workforce needs — to be eligible, students have to pursue an associate degree or short-term credential required for certain high-demand, high-wage occupations.
Following the initial success of the $10.5 million program, Louisiana legislators increased its funding, with a total of nearly $24 million available in scholarships for the 2026-27 school year.
In North Carolina, Sullivan said adult learners should continue to be a focus for community colleges.
“We cannot give up on adults in today’s economy,” he said.
Connecting with the 58 presidents
As Sullivan looks ahead to meeting the state’s 58 community college presidents, there is one he already knows quite well — Wake Technical Community College President Scott Ralls. When Sullivan was in leadership roles with Virginia and Louisiana’s community college systems, he got to know Ralls, who was then president of the NCCCS.
In the press release announcing Sullivan’s selection, Ralls praised his leadership, saying: “Wake Tech serves more students than some states’ entire systems, and I want this leader for our state. There is not a better person in the country to lead North Carolina’s community colleges.”
Sullivan echoed praise for Ralls in an interview with EdNC, sharing how he has learned from Ralls, specifically from Wake Tech’s approach to mechatronics training to inform efforts in Louisiana.
“Part of the excitement of a move into this role is being able to work with people like Scott that get it. They understand the mission. They are committed to it. They pour their lives into making these communities better,” Sullivan said. “I want to be a part of that.”
Sullivan said he is looking forward to meeting the other community college presidents, both individually and personally, as he starts this role.
“One of the things that I try to do as a leader is to understand the condition and the circumstance that people are working in on a given day, and to try to find ways that we can align our work to make sure that we’ve got 58 colleges all rowing in the same direction,” Sullivan said. “That vision of 58 ships in the fleet suggests to me that we can lift the lives of 11.1 million people, and that to me is the overarching goal and the one that we must continue to focus on, on a daily basis.”
Reflecting on his experiences in Louisiana, Sullivan acknowledged the differences in North Carolina’s community college syste, both in terms of size and structure. The common element, he said, is the mission of community colleges and the importance of students, which he said has guided him through difficult moments of leadership.
“I just look forward to the opportunity to understand and to work closely with those presidents out there and ensure that we’re delivering on that mission for all of North Carolina,” he said.
Looking ahead
All eyes are now on the General Assembly’s confirmation process, the first of its kind following a change to state law in 2023.
According to statute, the General Assembly will adopt a joint resolution to either confirm or deny the confirmation. If the legislature fails to adopt a joint resolution confirming the candidate by the 30th legislative day following the receipt of the candidates’ name, “it shall be deemed that the General Assembly has denied confirmation.”
Upon confirmation, Sullivan would become the president and CEO of the North Carolina Community College System.
Looking ahead to the first year of his potential tenure, Sullivan said he would most want to achieve the implementation of the system’s transformation agenda with the goal of transforming the student experience.
“Your zip code should not determine the quality of service you receive,” Sullivan said. “Being able to ensure that students in every corner of North Carolina have that quality experience, in a program aligned with the industry, and business community members who are there investing in the college, working closely to make sure that curriculum is providing the workforce they’re looking for — that, to me, is the success.”
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