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Peter Hans

President, University of North Carolina System

Bio

Peter Hans became the ninth president of the North Carolina Community College System on May 1, 2018, bringing decades of leadership experience in higher education policy and governance to the position.

Hans has been a leader on North Carolina’s two governing boards for higher education. The N.C. House of Representatives elected him to a six-year term on the State Board of Community Colleges in 1997. He served as vice chair of the board and chair of the Policy Committee.

The N.C. Senate elected Hans to the University of North Carolina Board of Governors in 2003, 2007 and 2011, and he led that board as chair from 2012-2014.

He was honored by UNC-Wilmington in 2014 for his role in improving collaboration between the community college and university systems.

From 2016-2018, Hans advised UNC System President Margaret Spellings on issues such as technology, health care, strategic planning and K-12 education.

Hans’ career also includes serving as senior policy adviser to U.S. Sen. Lauch Faircloth (1995-1999) and then-U.S. Rep. Richard Burr (1999-2001). He also advised Elizabeth Dole during her successful run for U.S. Senate in 2001-2002.

Later, Hans and former Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker built a government relations practice at a series of regional law firms, most recently Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. The team counseled private-sector companies on public affairs, including clients in the health care, technology, retail and manufacturing sectors.

Hans grew up in Southport on the coast and Hendersonville in the mountains. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies from Harvard University.

He is a trustee of Rex Hospital and a member of the International Advisory Board of public relations firm APCO Worldwide. He is a former board member for Urban Ministries of Wake County, where he co-chaired a $5.5 million capital campaign.