Valentine Named Interim Chancellor in UNC System

Peggy Valentine, EdD, PA, RN, a former director of the Howard University PA program, has been named interim chancellor of Fayetteville State University, one of the 17 campuses within the University of North Carolina system. This is likely the highest academic position achieved by a PA to date.

As chancellor, she will provide, according to the university’s website, “administrative, organizational, strategic, and compliance services to advance the university’s strategic priorities … The Chancellor is the top administrator to the university and reports to the overall president of the NC University System.” She explained that her role will be analogous to that of a university president, under the president of the larger UNC system.

“I’m so thrilled to be asked to do this,” she said. “I think people in the UNC system have seen the work we have done at Winston-Salem [State University], and when this position came open they called and asked if I would be willing to step in. It’s an opportunity to use the skills I’ve gained over the years, and hopefully I can use them to help more students be successful in their studies.”

Valentine graduated from the Howard program in 1977 and joined the faculty soon after. She was chair of the department for six years, from 1983-89. In 2006 she was recruited to be dean of the School of Health Sciences at Winston-Salem State University, where she “transformed the School of Health Sciences into a widely respected and popular program,” said UNC System President Dr. Bill Roper in a press release. 

Valentine noted that there may be an opportunity for a new PA program at Fayetteville. The university is near a military base, and the school’s population is 25 percent veterans, which “fits with the roots of the profession,” she said. “I’ll get there and take a look at the lay of the land. It should be far enough away from other programs that there won’t be competition.”

Her time as a PA program director has set the stage for this move in her career. “The things you learn directing a PA program will serve you well in any leadership role. If you continue down the road of doing the best you can wherever you are, life opens up amazing opportunities for you. PAs can do amazing things.”

Valentine was an active member of PAEA and AAPA for many years and was one of the founders of the Project Access minority recruitment program. You can learn more about her in her PA History Society profile.