Lt. Governor Walter Dalton Appointed to Hunt Institute Foundation Board
June 10, 2009
DURHAM, N.C.-- Lt. Governor Walter Dalton has been appointed to the James B. Hunt, Jr., Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy Foundation's Board of Directors.
Chairman of the Foundation Board and former governor Jim Hunt said, “Walter's reputation as a staunch leader and supporter of education and economic progress speaks loud and clear. His desire to make North Carolina a strong, global competitor is widely known, and we need persistent leadership like his to make lasting progress.”
In addition to his efforts to raise teacher pay and improve community colleges and universities, Dalton worked to ensure schools prepare children to compete in a global economy. The Rutherfordton County native and former North Carolina state senator authored the Innovative Education Act and the Learn and Earn program, which allows students to pursue college credit beginning in ninth grade and complete an associate's degree within five years. This program has been recognized by both the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
While in the State Senate, Dalton helped more than 120,000 senior citizens afford prescription drugs by helping to craft the North Carolina Senior Care Program. He has served as a trustee of the McClure Educational Foundation, chairman of the Isothermal Community College Board of Trustees, the Rutherford County Attorney, and is co-founder and former director of the Child Abuse Prevention Society.
Dalton earned both his B.S. and J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a member of both the North and South Carolina Bar Associations.