Ted Spring, Cape Fear Community College’s new president, is sold on his new institution, on Wilmington and on the region as a whole.

When Spring and his wife, Andrea, came to town in July for his interview, they were so impressed that they decided, on the spot, to make Wilmington their eventual home whether or not he got the job as CFCC president. 

He did get the job, in November becoming the head of a college that has expanded to roughly 31,000 students – many of whom stay in the area’s workforce – and is in the midst of aggressive growth at its three campuses. Spring replaced longtime CFCC president Eric McKeithan, who retired earlier this summer.

“What isn’t exciting?” Spring said of his leadership role. “Community colleges are the future for this region, state and country. You hear President Obama talking about it all the time. We can train, retrain and educate people for a very reasonable cost. We want students to get a good education so they have the skills to get good jobs at good wages, stay in the community and support their families.”

He emphasized the need to help area high school students make seamless transitions to community college and – for those wishing to continue – to a four-year degree institution. So he’s working to develop closer relationships with area high schools and with the University of North Carolina Wilmington and CFCC’s other four-year partner institutions: UNC-Pembroke and N.C. Wesleyan College. 

“You can see [CFCC students] blossom,” he said. 

“Many times, when they transfer, they are better than the native students [at that institution]. There’s an air of caring at CFCC that just knocks you over. 

 “You can see it in the classroom, the hallways, in the maintenance of facilities. From top to bottom, Cape Fear is on the cutting edge of community college education in the country.”

As he settles into his new job, he is focused on CFCC’s impact in the Cape Fear region. His position as chair-elect of the national Rural Community College Alliance gives him a special interest in promoting development in greater Wilmington’s less populated areas.

“What’s the next step?” he asked. “First, economic development. 

We want to be a player at the table. 

The college needs to be there when business and industry talk. We can help them train and retrain their employees. 

“Secondly, there needs to be a national focus on Cape Fear Community College. So many good things are happening here, and we’re doing things nobody else is doing. Our RN [registered nurse] program is the best in North Carolina. And our students have a 100 percent passing rate on the EMT [Emergency Medical Technician] exam. We want Cape Fear to become a ‘best practices’ hub.”