CHAPEL HILL – A year into her job as President of the University of North Carolina System, what strikes Margaret Spellings the most is the fundamental devotion of university faculty and staff to 225,000 students.

“The reason I took the job … was it’s truly one of the finest university systems in the country,” Spellings says in the accompanying video.  “When I saw this opportunity, I thought, ‘Man, put me in, Coach.’”

Spellings reflects on her visits to all 17 campuses in the system.

“That public-spiritedness that we see in faculty and staff – the commitment is absolutely palpable, and it was invigorating and inspiring.  And of course I learned a lot,” she says.

Spellings saw the connections between higher education and a better quality of life manifested in countless ways.  “We all know that if we’re successful in this country, it’s because we’ve had access to a quality education,” she says.

As she toured the state, the Texas native says, “What really struck me, stood out, was the commitment that faculty and staff have to students.  They will go the extra mile – they do go the extra mile,” she says.

“Secondly, I heard from people in the communities what a source of pride, what a center of civic engagement, of intellectual life, these universities are,” she says.  “I think that’s what has made for the strong support by the public for this University.”