Clyde A. Higgs, vice president of business development for the North Carolina Research Campus, has been appointed to the board of directors for the North Carolina Community College system.
“The State Board is pleased to count Mr. Higgs among our newest members,” Hilda Pinnix-Ragland, chair of the State Board of Community Colleges. “His background in higher education, as a trustee at Rowan-Cabarrus and in our own System Office, and in technology, business and research make him a great addition to the board.
“We look forward to his involvement in and contributions to our state’s 58 community colleges.”
Higgs has served on the Rowan Cabarrus Community College Board of Trustees and the RCCC Foundation Directors since 2008.
The North Carolina Community College system was developed in 1957 and is a statewide network of 58 public community colleges.
Each college has a distinct governance system and policies.
The system enrolls more than 800,000 students and is the third largest community college system in the nation.
“We are thrilled that Clyde has been appointed to the N.C. State Board and appreciate the commitment and service he has given to RCCC,” Carol Spalding, president of Rowan-Cabarrus, said. “Clyde is dedicated to the mission of the North Carolina Community College System and I know he will continue to serve as an advocated for RCCC as a member of the community college system.”
Higgs will begin his term of service in January 2012.
“I am humbled by the opportunity to serve on this board,” he said. “Our North Carolina Community College System is an economic and work force development gem for the future of our great state.”
Prior to joining the Research Campus, Higgs was the executive director of the technology incubator program at the University of North Texas-Health Science Center. While in Texas, he was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to serve on the Texas Emerging Technology Fund Board, a $200 million investment fund for early stage technology companies.
Before his appointment in Texas, he was the director for the Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization at North Carolina A&T State University.
Higgs has also held posts as executive assistant to the president at the North Carolina Community College system, and as the James E. Webb Management Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution.
He also serves on the East Carolina University Medical & Health Sciences Foundation.