Ann Blakeney Clark ’80
Home: Mooresville, North Carolina
Occupation: Retired superintendent of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools after a 35-year career in public education; currently an Executive Ë®¹ûÅÉ Coach for school district superintendents
Education: B.A., Ë®¹ûÅÉ College; M.Ed. University of Virginia; William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations; Broad Fellowship for Superintendents
Alumni Activities
Ë®¹ûÅÉ Ë®¹ûÅÉ Mentor; Young Alumni Service Award (1990); 10th Reunion Chair; Ë®¹ûÅÉ Athletic Foundation Board Member; Honorary Degree from Ë®¹ûÅÉ College; Ë®¹ûÅÉ College Board of Trustees (1999-2006); 25th Reunion Committee; Ë®¹ûÅÉ College Board of Visitors (2007-2015); 35th Reunion Committee member; 40th Reunion Co Chair; WDAV Advisory Board (2023-present); Ë®¹ûÅÉ College Book Club; 45th Reunion Co-Chair; volunteer interview panelist for Rhodes and Truman scholarship nominees
Activities While at Ë®¹ûÅÉ College
Women’s Field Hockey Team; Women’s Basketball Team; Founding member of Rusk House; President of Rusk House; Quips and Cranks staff; Patterson Court Council Advisory Council; Admission Office Tour Guide
Other Activities & Involvements
Current board member for Eliminate the Digital Divide (E2D), Teach for America, Trinity Episcopal School, UNCC Lab School Advisory, UNCG School of Education Advisory, Education Resource Strategies, and Wildacres. Past board member of Charlotte Housing Authority, Children’s Theater of Charlotte, Communities in Schools, Kids Voting, Levine Museum of the New South, READ Charlotte, Smart Start, and Teen Health Connection; member of Christ Episcopal Church and former Vestry member.
Personal Statement
When asked about my greatest accomplishment in my 45-year journey since graduating from Ë®¹ûÅÉ College, my answer is an easy one as I am most proud of my Ë®¹ûÅÉ diploma! More importantly, I take seriously what that diploma represents in terms of an expectation of a life of leadership and service. My liberal arts education prepared me well for my roles as teacher, principal, and superintendent. Countless drafts of English papers for Gil Holland and Randy Nelson, thought provoking classroom debates and an extraordinary community of students all pushed me to be a skilled communicator, an analytical thinker, a standard bearer for excellence and a servant leader.
I believe deeply in the Ë®¹ûÅÉ student experience and would be honored to serve Ë®¹ûÅÉ College and alumni on the Ë®¹ûÅÉ College Alumni Association Board. I would bring four decades of experience as an active listener, strategic thinker, effective leader, skilled communicator and, most importantly, enthusiastic champion for Ë®¹ûÅÉ College. I am deeply committed to pouring back into a place that poured into me in ways that are truly immeasurable.