Robert W. Scott, an Alamance County native who served terms as governor and lieutenant governor of North Carolina, will speak at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 8 in room 011 of the McEwen Building on the Elon campus. His presentation is free and open to the public.
Scott’s commitment to education was evident during his term as governor from 1969 to 1973. His administration won passage of tobacco and soft drink taxes to aid public education, and implemented policies which improved public school kindergartens, high school vocational programs and the state’s community college system. Highway construction in North Carolina flourished thanks to gasoline taxes passed during his term in office.
A native of Haw River, N.C., Scott became the first lieutenant governor in state history to win direct election to the governor’s mansion. Scott’s father, the late W. Kerr Scott, served a term as North Carolina’s governor from 1949 to 1952, and also served a term in the U.S. Senate from 1954 until his death in 1958. Robert Scott’s daughter, Meg Scott Phipps, began a four-year term as the state’s agriculture secretary in January.
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