Honorees (from left) Mike Bridges, Jon Mercer, Ellen Collett, and Mark Patrick are flanked by NCSSM Chancellor Dr. J. Todd Roberts (left) and Kevin Baxter, vice chancellor and chief campus officer for NCSSM-Morganton.
Patrick
Mercer
Collett
Bridges
Between expanding opportunities for students and developing integral community ties, the four honorees acknowledged in the Board of Trustees reception at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) last fall helped define the school’s legacy.
Vice Chancellor and Chief Campus Officer Kevin Baxter brimmed with excitement over the reception. The third of its kind, Baxter explained that the annual honors are not mandatory, but the school’s administrators felt inclined to acknowledge the excellence of their contributors.
“When you overextend an honor, it can become less meaningful,” Baxter said. “And so, we try to find lots of different ways to show our appreciation to folks. This is, in some ways, our highest honor here at NCSSM-Morganton, and meant to be for those who make the most significant impact.”
Each year, Baxter presents a set of recommendations to the chancellor of the NCSSM in Durham, Morganton’s sister institution. The schools function as one entity with separate campuses — meaning they share the title of Best Public High School in America awarded by Niche, a leading school analysis site that provides profiles on schools across the country.
Baxter said the school had prepared an extensive invite list, requesting the presence of many community pillars.
“The audience for this becomes our two governance boards — our board of trustees and our foundation board,” he said. “Then, we have a number of invited elected officials and public officials from across the region.”
However, the focus of the night remained on the honorees: Ellen Collett, Mark Patrick, Jon Mercer, and Mike Bridges. In Baxter’s eyes, the star of the reception was Collett.
Baxter said, “Ellen and her husband, Rountree, really birthed the idea of having a campus of NCSSM here in Morganton. … Ellen joined our board of trustees and really helped to catalyze a lot of the regional investment in our program here in the foothills — so, a lot of our partnerships for research mentorship.”
From fundraising to cementing town relationships, Ellen’s impact was formative for the school. Baxter jokingly referred to her as the “Godmother of the campus.”
“She has literally touched everyone and everything here, and made it a passion project to do so,” he said, “For which she was never paid a dime, but is helping our county reap the benefit.”
The other three honorees, Baxter said, were similarly impactful in their own ways. Former UNC Health Board chairman Mike Bridges, along with former UNC Health Blue Ridge President and CEO Kathy Bailey — a previous honoree — assisted in fundraising for the campus, securing a commitment of $5 million.
“Mike played a huge, outsized leadership role in that,” Baxter said. “He’s a champion of education; he’s a champion for driven students.”
Mercer, another UNC Health Blue Ridge alumnus, played an integral role in the design of the vision for NCSSM. He recently left his position as chief operating officer.
Baxter said, “Jon was in the boardrooms, rolling up his sleeves, trying to help us conceive of how to design a campus that would be interdependent with its community partners and not one that was a castle up on a hill.”
Mercer’s expertise in design systems, partnerships, and less-considered aspects such as dining services and furniture selections provided a unique perspective in the development of the campus model.
The final honoree, former North Carolina School of the Deaf Director Mark Patrick, played a more unique role in the continued success of NCSSM.
“Mark helped to promote that same vision of collegiality and shared resources as two state agency schools,” Baxter said. “Mark created that culture, which I should note, was not the culture when Mark arrived.”
In the early years of NCSSM-Morganton, Baxter explained that the School of the Deaf leadership sometimes viewed NCSSM as a threat, trying to take their land and buildings. It was Patrick’s advocacy that shifted the perspective to one of unity.
Baxter said, “It’s something that’s so special and it took someone with Mark’s courage, at the time, but also his conviction to bring that to life.”
With all honorees and their families expected to attend, Baxter looked forward to the night being over — but going exceptionally well.
“Each of these individuals is incredibly humble and does not accept public displays of gratitude lightly,” Baxter said. “They will tell you, ‘It’s not about me, it’s about the impact that we’re bringing to this community.’ Realistically, if not for them, it would not be happening.”
Jacob Christopher is the courts and education reporter for The Paper. He can be reached at 828-445-8595.
