When you're the son of a Methodist minister, you get used to uprooting your life every four years.

Such was the boyhood of Scott Ralls, who moved with his family from town to town around the western half of North Carolina -- Charlotte, Waynesville, Mount Airy, Morganton, Asheville.

On his college application essay to UNC Chapel Hill, Ralls wrote that all that moving had been an advantage, not a disruption. He had learned to grow and make new friends and adapt to unfamiliar situations.

Ralls, 43, who was named the next president of the state's community college system earlier this month, says he understands the people, the beauty and the challenges of North Carolina.

"I love the state in all its breadth, in all its complexity, in all its differences," he said.

But the state is undergoing constant change, including a big influx of immigrants who have lower education levels. Ralls has been careful not to take a position on the explosive political issue of the day -- whether the system should be required to admit illegal immigrants. That issue is now under review by the Attorney General's Office.

Ralls will head a system of 58 community colleges, a gateway to prosperity for tens of thousands of North Carolinians in a state that has struggled economically. The colleges are the main provider of workforce training and adult education, leading students to better jobs and careers. Increasingly, the colleges are a steppingstone to a four-year degree at a university.

Ralls sees the community college system as offering a way for working-class people to move ahead. You can't walk onto a community college campus, he said, without seeing "little miracles."

"We're champions for those folks who want to champion themselves and haven't had a lot of opportunity in their lives," he said.

Ralls said North Carolina should be focused on keeping up with international standards of competitiveness.

"A statistic that causes me to stay up late ... is the fact that in the United States now, 25 percent of our work force in the science and engineering areas is foreign born," he said. "What worries me is that a (recent) study showed that for 15-year-olds, we rank 25th in math."

The state's public schools, community colleges and UNC must work together to overcome that, he said.

Scott Ralls
Born: In Charlotte, raised in towns and cities across North Carolina.
Family: Wife, Lisa Ralls, and sons Benjamin, 8, and Lucas, 6.
Education: Doctoral and master's degrees in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Maryland; bachelor's degree in industrial relations and psychology from UNC Chapel Hill.
Career: President at Craven Community College since 2002. Previously, he was the vice president for economic and work force development for the N.C. Community College System and director of economic development for the system. Before that, he worked at the state Department of Commerce.
OTHER: Coaches youth basketball. Big Tar Heel fan. Loves Jimmy Buffett music

Raleigh News & Observer, Dec. 28, 2007

The weekend of  March 24, Howard “Bama” Warren, Class of ’68, (still living in Gadsden, Alabama) was due to be in Chapel Hill on business.  He got in touch with a few local alumni and they all got together for breakfast at Breadmen’s Restaurant, (owned by Roy Piscitello, 1970). 

In the photo, l to r are: Roy Piscitello, Franklin Freeman, Fred Atkins, Howard Warren, William Slebos, Roy Hagerty, Smith Freeman.

Fred Atkins, Class of ’67, was planning a trip to the LA area to visit his daughter, who recently moved to Santa Monica.  He checked the alumni database on the DU website and discovered several brothers from his “era” who live where he’d be traveling.  One of those men, Dave “Coogar” Watkinson, he hadn’t seen in 40 years.  In fact, Dave lives in Santa Monica and they got together for dinner and a lot of reminiscing.  Attached is a photo of their night on the town.  While on the trip, Fred also stayed in the San Francisco area with two of his old roommates; Bob Cordell and John Kitts.  There are others in the area he wanted to see, but just ran out of time.  Any of you who are interested in seeing what Coogar has been up to, check out his website http://davidwatkinson.com.