Margaret Spellings, the former U.S. secretary of education, has announced her resignation as president of the University of North Carolina System President.
The university says in a news release that the university he Board of Governors met Friday and approved a separation package for Spellings.
Spellings has agreed to continue serving at the university through March 1, 2019. She served as education secretary from 2005 to 2009.
The Raleigh News & Observer reports that Spellings had been receiving an annual salary of $775,000 and was paid performance bonuses of $90,000 last year and $95,000 this year.
The separation package for Spellings calls for a payment of $500,000, a retirement contribution of $77,500, and $35,000 in relocation expenses. Sources close to Spellings say she wanted to return to her home state of Texas.
"The state’s commitment to higher education is what drew me here three years ago, and it’s what propelled me forward every day on the job,” Spellings said. “I will forever be honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve alongside our terrific chancellors, faculty, staff, students and our Boards of Trustees and Board of Governors."
Under President Spellings’ leadership, the university says, the UNC System capped tuition, created a national model for accountability and transparency, modernized its data systems, and shifted its focus to tackle key issues of upward mobility and economic impact in all of the state's100 counties.
“Under Margaret’s strong and capable leadership, we have worked together to achieve a lot of great things – keeping college affordable, holding ourselves and our institutions accountable, and getting the facts, data, and details we need to be world-class," says Harry Smith, Chair of the UNC Board of Governors.
