Tarboro native Carmen Nunalee was the second of three Halifax Community College presidential hopefuls to be presented to the public during a forum on the campus Tuesday.
The third candidate — Pamela Monaco — will be presented later today at 2:30 p.m. in room 108 of the Phillip Taylor Building on the campus.
“I think like the people in this area. I know who you are, not individually, but collectively,” Nunalee said in response to an rrspin.com question. “I know the struggles and the joys of this area. It’s a good life that we live in eastern North Carolina, more specifically northeastern North Carolina.”
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Nunalee is vice president of strategy and performance and dean of the Crutchfield Campus at Stanly Community College in Albemarle.
She previously served as vice president of strategic planning and compliance at Stanly Community College.
Nunalee earned a doctor of education in adult and community college education from North Carolina State University; a juris doctor from the University of Virginia; a master of science in microbiology-immunology from Northwestern University in Evanston; and a bachelor of science in biology from Meredith College.
She said her biggest professional accomplishment was going through the COVID-19 pandemic as an educational administrator. “The last couple of years have been hard — harder than you could ever imagine. Five years ago if you said pandemic you’d be like, ‘Oh, it’s going to be like the flu.’ It turned into something that for many people was quite traumatic. So the biggest accomplishment in the last couple of years was holding on to my core values and being hopeful about what was happening around us and being brave enough to say we need to do these things to stay safe, we need to do these things to stay together and not be divisive — just holding true to self has been an accomplishment.”
As with questions posed to Dr. Patrena Elliott on Monday, Nunalee was asked how to deal with students who want to leave the area upon completion of their HCC education.
“I don’t know the students but I want to reach out and give them a hug. That broke my heart,” she said.
Nunalee graduated high school in 1987. “We had moved away from Tarboro so I did not graduate from Tarboro High. It took me 22 years to return to rural North Carolina. I get that. I understand. I was there. The world has other things to offer and I went looking for them, but I also know that I’m back.”
Nunalee said, “Our populations in rural counties are aging. It’s hard to hold on to small families, to new families, to young people. Honesty will go a long way. If I’m here I’ll tell the same story that I went away for 22 years. I understand. You’re not going to find things elsewhere that you can’t find here. You can find a lot of things that you don’t like elsewhere and want to be back, which was my journey.”
She said, “We’ve got to find a way to do it. This is not easy work. It’s not short-term work. It’s not quick. You’re not going to see a result immediately. To use the parable, you’re going to throw seeds out into the field. Some of it will land in good soil and some will not. If you’re fortunate you’ll see the results.”
Nunalee said, however, “What’s going to happen is you’re going to do your work, you’re going to do everything that you can. Plant the seed and it will be an open tree that will grow sometime in the future and your goal is to remember that you’re not the only one doing the work and hold fast to the need for it to happen. You have a role in it and hope that they also see the dream that you’re trying to achieve.”
On the question of boosting morale, Nunalee said, “In my current role I oversee HR. That includes overseeing professional development which thankfully early on I was able to hire someone who is fantastic at curating training materials.”
Having that person share their expertise, Nunalee said, allowed staff to look at the strengths of individuals in their various roles. “Leverage your strengths and if you’re not as strong in some areas but someone could help provide the support, yes, the hats are going to be switched.”
She said she also understands that staff are all working toward the same goal. “We want our students to achieve what they’re seeking and go out and improve their lives.”
Support for employees is critical, she said. “If you aren’t able to get up every day and step into your roles and do your work then the mission of the college is not achieved. Your personal mission of what you want in your life is not achieved if you don’t have the support.”
It’s important, she said, to have someone telling employees what they do is important.
In her summation, Nunalee said, “I wish you well. If I’m your chosen person I’ll come in and work hard for you. If I am not, I will wish you well in your endeavors to move forward. If the trustees choose me it’s because they want me here. If they choose someone else it’s because they’re better-suited. I understand that.”
Said Nunalee: “What I would like to do is come here and work alongside you and walk with you on this pathway through education and growing the community and creating a quality of life, economic mobility in this area. There’s some exciting things going on in Halifax County.
“I pursued additional education through a doctorate because I was interested in leadership for institutions. I made the decision to do that because I joined a college (Stanly Community College) that was doing some extraordinary student reform initiative work that was creating conditions for students to excel at what they were doing. Student achievement rates before COVID, enrollment rates and participation in education was growing because of the work the college was able to do. I’d like to see that replicated nationally. I could do it at one institution but I’d like to see it happen here and I believe there’s a possibility. Your signing on for things that really should make a difference.”
