Carol S. Spalding, EdD, Advances Community College Education Through Workforce Development, Technology and Access

SALISBURY, N.C.: Dynamo Times highlights Carol S. Spalding, EdD, president of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, whose career in higher education has been shaped by a commitment to educational access, workforce preparation, technology and community partnership.

Dr. Spalding has led Rowan-Cabarrus since 2008. Her path to the presidency grew from her own experience as a continuing-education student and Navy spouse, followed by decades of increasingly senior leadership in the community-college system. A July 2026 Who's Who of Professional Women profile highlights her record of institutional growth, workforce development and educational leadership. Current 2025-2026 community and professional records continue to identify her as president of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.

Dr. Spalding's professional story began with a personal experience familiar to many adult learners. After relocating as a young Navy spouse, she encountered difficulty finding work despite having completed her undergraduate education. She turned to continuing education. That experience introduced her to the community-college system not first as an administrator, but as someone seeking a new opportunity. The perspective would influence a career centered on making education accessible to people whose lives do not always follow a traditional academic path.

Dr. Spalding earned a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from the University of Louisville in 1971. Her studies also included secondary education. The international-relations background provided a broad perspective on institutions, policy and society: one her later career would apply to education, workforce development and community planning.

In 1975, Dr. Spalding began working at what was then Florida Junior College and later became Florida Community College at Jacksonville. Her 2026 professional profile describes her early roles as instructor and coordinator of grant-funded programs. She subsequently became director of continuing education for the Open Campus, placing her directly within programs designed for students who needed alternatives to traditional campus-based education.

From 1986 through 2008, Dr. Spalding served as the founding president of the Open Campus at Florida Community College at Jacksonville. The 2026 Who's Who of Professional Women profile credits her with helping expand educational access through online development and workforce programs. A particular focus involved degree completion opportunities for U.S. Navy personnel. Her own experience as a Navy spouse gave her insight into the educational challenges military families can face: service members may relocate frequently or work schedules that do not align with traditional classes. The work anticipated many of the flexible and technology-supported models that later became common throughout higher education.

While building her career, Dr. Spalding continued her own formal education. She earned a master's degree in human resource management from Pepperdine University in 1986. In 2003, she earned a Doctor of Education in educational leadership from Columbia University. The degrees mirrored the evolution of her professional responsibilities from program management to executive leadership.

In 2008, Dr. Spalding became president of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College in North Carolina. The institution serves Rowan and Cabarrus counties through multiple campuses and online programs. Her move from Florida to North Carolina marked a new stage of leadership: responsibility for an entire community college serving students, employers and communities across a growing region.

The 2026 Who's Who of Professional Women profile identifies the successful passage of four bond issues as one of the major achievements of Dr. Spalding's Rowan-Cabarrus presidency. Bond funding can provide resources for buildings, technology and other long-term institutional investments. Securing public support requires colleges to communicate how those investments connect to education, workforce needs and regional development.

Under Dr. Spalding's leadership, Rowan-Cabarrus became a pilot site for a statewide enterprise resource planning system. Technology in higher education is not limited to online courses: it also shapes how colleges manage services, information and decision-making. One of the most visible recognitions of Dr. Spalding's impact is the Dr. Carol S. Spalding Advanced Technology Center, a facility at the North Carolina Research Campus named in her honor in 2021. North Carolina Research Campus materials describe the center in connection with advanced manufacturing, engineering, workforce training and technology-focused education.

Workforce development has been a central theme of Dr. Spalding's presidency. Community colleges often operate at the intersection of education and local economic needs. North Carolina's State Board of Community Colleges specifically cited Dr. Spalding's advocacy for student success and the community college's role in workforce and economic development when naming her President of the Year. The state system recognized that she had grown Rowan-Cabarrus continuing-education and training programs and helped align community leaders around economic-development efforts.

The Advanced Technology Center has helped connect Rowan-Cabarrus students with modern manufacturing technologies. North Carolina Research Campus materials describe training connected with computer numerical control machining, injection molding and engineering. Rowan-Cabarrus has also expanded training connected with the life-sciences economy, including a BioWork certificate program designed to prepare students for employment at planned biopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. The college has additionally expanded nursing education: Research Campus materials reported a 50 percent expansion in Rowan-Cabarrus nursing programs, including multiple nursing-education offerings at the campus.

Dr. Spalding's 2026 professional profile highlights her recent work securing $9 million for a truck-driving program intended to expand job-training opportunities. Commercial transportation remains essential to supply chains and regional economies. The initiative demonstrates the breadth of community-college workforce education, which can range from biotechnology and engineering to logistics and skilled occupations.

Dr. Spalding has emphasized partnerships between Rowan-Cabarrus and other educational institutions. In 2023, Rowan-Cabarrus and Cabarrus College of Health Sciences announced a transfer agreement designed to give RCCC graduates additional pathways to continue their education. Transfer agreements can reduce friction between institutions and make degree progression more predictable for students. Rowan-Cabarrus also works with local school systems through early-college and career pathways, allowing students to begin college-level education while still in high school.

Technology-supported education has been a recurring theme throughout Dr. Spalding's career. Her Open Campus leadership began decades before online education became commonplace. More recently, she has continued involvement with the Instructional Technology Council, a national organization focused on eLearning and distance education. The organization's current board identifies Dr. Spalding as Treasurer and president of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.

Dr. Spalding's work has repeatedly extended beyond campus boundaries. Her 2026 profile describes leadership in a Jacksonville citywide visioning project undertaken with Leadership Jacksonville and the Chamber of Commerce: a two-year effort involving more than 1,000 participants. From 1983 to 2008, she hosted "Politics Is Your Business," a television program produced by the League of Women Voters, adding public communication to her professional experience.

Dr. Spalding's professional biography lists numerous honors, including the Outstanding College/Corporation Partnership Award from the American Association of Community Colleges, a Partner of the Year Award from the North Carolina Community College State Board, Florida Department of Education recognition for business and education partnerships, and an Administrator of the Year Award from the Florida Association of Community Colleges. She was also named a Top Woman in Business by the Charlotte Business Journal.

From her first work in community-college education in the 1970s to her current presidency, Dr. Spalding's career spans more than five decades. During that period, the community-college sector has transformed: distance education moved from specialized delivery systems to mainstream digital learning, workforce programs increasingly incorporated biotechnology, automation and advanced manufacturing, and colleges became even more closely connected to regional economic development. Dr. Spalding's career has moved through each of these transitions.

Dynamo Times recognizes Carol S. Spalding, EdD, for more than five decades of leadership in community-college education, workforce development, technology and expanding educational opportunity.