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Former N.C. Governor to Speak in UNC Political Science Course

Former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt will be a guest speaker in an undergraduate state and local politics class at UNC-Chapel Hill on Thursday, February 28.

Hunt's address begins at 9:30 a.m. in 209 Manning Hall and is free and open to the public. There will be about 100 seats available for the general public, since the first rows of seats will be reserved for students in the course.

John Hardin, assistant vice president for research and sponsored programs and adjunct assistant professor of political science, arranged for Hunt to make the appearance in his class.

"My goal for the talk is for it to provide my students with a first-hand account of governing from one of the country's longest-serving governors," Hardin said. However, he noted, the topic of the discussion will be at Hunt's discretion.

Hunt was governor of North Carolina from 1977 to 1985 and from 1993 until 2001. During his 16 years in the state's executive office, Hunt shaped North Carolina politics greatly.

Since his retirement from the Governor's Office, Hunt has joined the Raleigh law offices of Womble, Carlyle Sandridge & Rice as a member. He has also continued to play an active role shaping public policy, particularly for issues that he was best known for as governor -- education and economic development. Recently, he has been heavily involved with the newly created James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy in Chapel Hill. The Institute is affiliated with the UNC Office of the President and focuses on research, policy analysis, and "best practices" tied to comprehensive improvement in education.

For more information about Hunt's UNC visit, call Dr. Hardin at 962-2676 or via email at jwhardin@northcarolina.edu.

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