Dear NCSSM Community:

Thank you for this opportunity to serve NCSSM as Chair of our Board of Trustees. I look forward to working with my board colleagues and with our Foundation Board of Directors, the Alumni Association, the Parent Council and others in support of our institutional mission to educate our state’s gifted students, advance public education for all North Carolinians, and inspire innovation for the betterment of humankind.

The year is off to a great start! We welcomed 680 students into our residential school and nearly 800 students into our distance education courses, a combined enrollment representative of almost all of our 100 counties. Additionally, we are partnering with 23 school districts statewide to provide advanced STEM courses to local schools and are also contracted with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to provide a statewide STEM curriculum.

Moreover, our research indicates that approximately 55 percent of our 8,000 alumni remain in the state. Our graduates pursue studies and careers in STEM fields at a rate three to five times that found nationally. Many pursue careers as teachers, health care professionals and entrepreneurs here in North Carolina, generating an annual economic impact of nearly $500 million. Our alumni also impact our communities by volunteering nearly 150,000 hours annually to non-profits in NC.

In pursuit of continuing and expanding its academic mission across North Carolina, I would like to ask you to do two things to help NCSSM.

First, if you have not done so already, please give what you can to the NCSSM Foundation.  The foundation funds nearly 10 percent of the School’s budget, including academic clubs and competitions, intramural and conference athletics, and cultural and social activities important to student life. The foundation also supports faculty salaries, real-world mentorship and research experiences for students, and other academic programs. Without this funding, the NCSSM experience would not be what it is. Giving as much as you can is important, but your participation, regardless of amount, is equally important. Your participation indicates that you care.

Secondly, as we are publically funded, it is important that your NC State Senator and your NC House Representative hear from you about how valuable and how important our institution is to North Carolina. A letter or phone call, or even a personal meeting to let them know how you feel about NCSSM can have a lasting and positive effect.

Finally, please join me expressing gratitude to Shirley Frye who has served as Chair of the Board of Trustees these last four years. Shirley has helped guide our school through an economic crisis, a leadership transition and a strategic planning process. She provides a great example of the immeasurable value of individual involvement.

Please know that my colleagues and I welcome any feedback you may have.  And again, please join me in support of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.

Regards,

Henry D. Kuo, ’82, Chair NCSSM Board of Trustees