Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday appointed three of the state’s highest ranking education leaders to the national Education Commission of the States.
Martez Hill, Margaret Spellings, and James Williamson were named to the organization, which brings together education leaders from around the country to address education policy issues.
Commissioners from each state provide information about education policy issues affecting their states, and can use resources from the commission.
“I am grateful to these education leaders for their service to North Carolina, and their willingness to participate in this national effort to improve our schools, colleges and universities,” Cooper said in a news release. “I want North Carolinians to become better educated, and this commission can help us find new and innovative ways to achieve that goal.”
Hill will serve as the state education agency representative to the commission. He is executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Education. He is responsible for providing policy advice to the 13 members of the State Board, and managing the operations of the Office of the State Board of Education. Hill previously served as deputy superintendent for the Mississippi Department of Education.
Spellings and Williamson were named commissioners at-large to the national organization.
Spellings is president of the University of North Carolina system. She served as the U.S. secretary of education from 2005-09. After that, she was president of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas.
Williamson is president of the North Carolina Community College System. He previously served two years as the president and CEO of the South Carolina Technical College System. Williamson has served as a board member of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and on various economic development boards.