Meet Dr. Janet Spriggs
7th President of Forsyth Technical Community College
Dr. Janet N. Spriggs became the seventh President for Forsyth Technical Community College on January 1, 2019. Prior to joining Forsyth Tech, she served seven years in various executive leadership roles at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and for fifteen years as an executive leader at Carteret Community College, giving her more than 24 years of service in the North Carolina Community College System.
Dr. Spriggs has the unique honor of having been named an Aspen Presidential Fellow for Community College Excellence two times. She was one of 40 leaders selected from across
the nation as a 2018-2019 Aspen Rising Presidential Fellow and earlier this year, she was one of 25 new community college presidents from across the nation selected as a member of the inaugural cohort of the Aspen New Presidents Fellowship.
Dr. Spriggs earned her doctorate in higher education administration from Northeastern University in 2018. Her passion is in the power of education to change lives and the vital role community
colleges play as catalysts for equity, and workforce and economic development. As a student centered visionary, Dr. Spriggs is dedicated to fostering high quality learning, improving completion,
advancing equity of success for all students, and expanding post-graduation success. In addition to her doctorate, she also holds a master’s degree in computing technology from Nova Southeastern
University and a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from Roger Williams University.
A native of North Carolina, Dr. Spriggs grew up in Milton, NC and is also proud to be a former community college student, having attended two North Carolina Community Colleges: Rockingham
Community College and Durham Technical Community College. “I have witnessed countless life-changing moments that illustrate the power of education to transform lives,” says Dr. Spriggs, “and as a low-income, first-generation student, education changed my life. As a leader, I believe leaders are more effective when they lead from within rather than from above and by influence instead of authority, and I am committed to a culture of belonging where inclusion is weaved into the fabric of who we are.”
In June 2020, Dr. Spriggs was selected for a three-year term on the American Association of Community College’s Student Success Commission. Additionally, Dr. Spriggs serves the community and our state as a Rotarian, a member of the Advisory Board for the Belk Center at NC State University and on the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission. She also serves on the boards for the Winston-Salem Alliance, Greater Winston-Salem, Inc. and the United Way of Forsyth County. Recently Dr. Spriggs was invited to serve on the JFF Policy Leadership Trust. She has been married to her husband Doug for almost 35 years and they love spending time with their five children, four grandchildren, and their two Norfolk Terriers.
President's View
Every year, N.C. State’s Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research hosts the W. Dallas Herring Lecture. Herring, considered the father of the community college system in North Carolina, helped transform the way that North Carolinians access community college. According to the Belk Center’s website, “The lecture invites top community college leaders to speak on urgent and emerging topics, framing how to address the issues and proposing a path forward. On Tuesday, November 8th, Mike Flores, Ph.D., chancellor of the Alamo Colleges District, will deliver the 2022 Dallas Herring Lecture under the title of Community Colleges in Action: Advancing Equity and Enhancing Economic Mobility Using Local Collective Impact Strategies. “ This year, Dr. Janet Spriggs, President of Forsyth ...
I go to work every day, knowing the work we will do that day at Forsyth Technical Community College is going to be important and impactful for our students and our communities. That is what community colleges do. We are difference makers: providing access to high-quality postsecondary education; helping students succeed and achieve their goals and dreams and driving workforce development by connecting graduates to careers with family-sustaining wages. However, some days the work we do is even more transformational and life-changing. Yesterday was one of those days at Forsyth Tech. Thanks to the vision and support of the team at the John M. Belk Endowment (JMBE), and funding from the North ...
Dr. Janet N. Spriggs, President of Forsyth Technical Community College, has been elected as the Vice President of Membership for the American Association of Women in Community Colleges (AAWCC). Spriggs brings more than 25 years of experience in higher education to her role on the Board and will serve for a period of four years in the elected position, beginning in July. Founded in 1973, The American Association for Women in Community Colleges is the leading national organization that champions women and maximizes their potential at community colleges. Founded in 1973, AAWCC provides education, career development, and advancement to women educators and students at community colleges. As a council of the American Association ...
