Events
Wake Tech Celebrates the Legacy of Dr. Stephen Scott
College Names Campus in His Honor
RALEIGH, N.C. (August 14, 2018) - It was a day to remember for Dr. Stephen Scott, who was the guest of honor at the college’s annual Fall Convocation. Business, government, and community leaders joined more than 1,000 current and former employees in celebrating Dr. Scott’s tenure at Wake Tech. Dr. Scott retires at the end of August after serving for 15-years as the college’s third president.
“This is a bittersweet day,” said Executive Vice President Dr. Gayle Greene. “Dr. Scott has been a mentor and an inspiration to Wake Tech employees, and we will miss him.”
One by one and in groups, employees paid tribute, thanking him for his leadership and service. In a surprise announcement, Trustees Chair Tom Looney announced that the Board had voted to name the Northern Wake Campus in his honor. “This campus will now be known as the Stephen C. Scott Northern Wake Campus,” he said. College leaders presented Dr. Scott with a portrait by local artist William Branson, which will be hung in the Northern Wake Campus library.
Elected officials presented Dr. Scott with several recognitions:
- Jessica Holmes, a special proclamation from the Wake County Board of Commissioners
- Austen Nowell and Betty Jo Shepheard from the offices of Senators Tillis and Burr, a U.S. flag flown over the U.S. Capitol Building in his honor
- U.S. Rep. David Price, a tribute to Dr. Scott’s leadership at Wake Tech entered into the Congressional Record
- State Rep. Darren Jackson, a state flag flown over the Legislative Building in his honor and acknowledgement of the Long Leaf Pine award presented by Governor Roy Cooper last week
Mayor Nancy McFarlane presented Dr. Scott with a proclamation from the City of Raleigh. “It is my honor as the mayor and as the mother of a daughter who graduated from Wake Tech to declare August 14, 2018 Dr. Stephen C. Scott Day!”
The Wake Tech Foundation announced that it has received a $1 million dollar donation for a new endowment called the Dr. Stephen Scott Applied Benchmarking Fund. Applied Benchmarking is a continuous improvement initiative created by Dr. Scott to encourage employees to look for best practices and apply them at Wake Tech.
With Dr. Scott’s favorite beach music as the theme, Wake Tech Chief Campus Officers gave Dr. Scott a beach bag full of gifts as a way to say thank you. Employees who are part of a band called “Technically Awake” played beach music and other songs as a tribute. A big surprise came at the end, when Craig Woolard of The Embers made an appearance to sing some of Dr. Scott’s favorite songs.
Employees received wristbands with the acronym WWDSD – which Jessica Holmes, Chair, Wake County Commissioners, suggested could serve as a reminder for employees when faced with challenges in the future. She said they could ask themselves, “What would Dr. Scott do?”
Employees also received a bottle of barbeque sauce courtesy of the Wake Tech Board of Trustees. The BBQ sauce was supplied by The Pit restaurant and sponsored by Chad Price and Mako Medical Laboratories. Dr. Scott had long referred to Wake Tech employees and supporters as Wake Tech’s “secret sauce.”
With a career spanning more than 40 years, Dr. Scott has been at the helm of Wake Tech since October 2003. Under his leadership, Wake Tech has become the largest of North Carolina’s 58 community colleges, now serving more than 74,000 students (the equivalent of one in 10 Wake County adults).
Wake Tech has hired AGB Search to launch a nationwide search for his replacement. AGB Search is seeking input on the preferred qualities and characteristics of the next president. It has opened an online survey, and is planning a series of listening sessions. Sessions for the public are being held on Wed, Aug. 22, and Thursday, Aug. 23.
