2. Born May 16 th, 1937, in Greensboro, NC Moved to a farm in Rock Ridge in preschool Mother was a teacher, father was a soil conservationist Was raised in the Free Will Baptist Church

3. Went to North Carolina State University Got a bachelor’s and a Mater’s degree at State for law school Got another law degree at the University of North Carolina

4. Married Carolyn Leonard in 1958 They moved to Nepal for 2 years working as economic advisors to the government under a Ford Foundation grant Had 4 kids

5. Was first elected for governor in 1976 Won against Republican David Flaherty Got 65% of the votes

6. Won governorship again in 1980 Beat Beverly Lake Created The School of Science and Mathematics and the Microelectronics Center for gifted young adults Approved a $0.03 gas increase, the money went into highway improvements

7. He ran for a US senate seat in 1984 but lost 48% to 52% He ran against Jesse Helms who already had the seat Spent over $26 million on the race (mostly for TV adds) making it the costliest senate campaign Left politics because of this and back into law

8. He returned to politics in 1992 when running for governor again He defeated Republican Jim Gardner People now started calling him “governor for life” created Smart Start, a nonprofit program that provided child care, heath care, and family support for children

9. Ran for governor again in 1996 Defeated Robin Hayes Hurricanes Fran and Floyd tested his leadership during this term Left office in 2001, being replaced by Mike Easley

10. He improved test scores more than any other state in the 90s Was the first to have 4 terms as governor Is now a member of the Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC law firm in Raleigh Now chairs the board of the James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Education Leadership and Policy