2010-2011 marked Dr. Todd Roberts’ first full year as NCSSM’s Chancellor. As a Durham native, it was quite exciting for the School to welcome him home. Assuming leadership, however, of a well-established institute such as NCSSM means that one has to hit the ground running.

Dr. Roberts did just that. His first order of business was to become acquainted with the most immediate of his responsibilities – the students, staff and alumni who have shaped and continue to define the School. Dr. Roberts’ enthusiasm for NCSSM translated into a developing sense of trust, respect and purpose shared between the administration and the greater NCSSM community that will underpin NCSSM’s success for years to come.

While Dr. Roberts’ homecoming was filled with nostalgia and warm feelings, he also inherited the difficult task of successfully navigating the School through budget negotiations that have proven challenging for public schools throughout the state in the last few years. Under Dr. Roberts’ leadership, and with tremendous thanks to the work of his predecessor, NCSSM was able to absorb budget cuts in fiscal year 2010-2011 without losing its place as one of the nation’s preeminent public high schools.

Cushioning the impact of those budget cuts meant that the Chancellor’s Office had to assume an increased role in fundraising among various constituencies. In doing so, Dr. Roberts attended a number of events throughout the year, meeting with alumni and stakeholders at events from coast to coast to raise the School’s profile. His willingness to meet friends and alumni where they live and work has made the Chancellor’s Office more influential in encouraging support of the School, and will surely enhance future giving to the Foundation.

New leadership also means taking a new look at what NCSSM is and what it can be. With this in mind, Dr. Roberts implemented an ongoing process to determine NCSSM’s future, a process that solicits input from all of the School’s constituencies. This year-long series of weekly on-campus meetings, collectively called Strategic Planning, investigates all facets of the School, from the most routine of everyday tasks to long-range plans on how best to serve the state, in order to create a mutually designed master plan for the School’s future. Once completed, this plan will serve both as the map for navigating the future and the measuring stick by which we measure and chart our progress.