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Catherine Truitt

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Catherine Truitt
Truitt in 2023
21st North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 2, 2021
GovernorRoy Cooper
Preceded byMark Johnson
Succeeded byMo Green (Elect)
Personal details
Born1970 or 1971 (age 53–54)
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJeff Truitt
Children3
EducationUniversity of Maryland, College Park (BA)
University of Washington (MEd)

Catherine Truitt (born 1970)[1] is an American educator and politician who has served as the 21st North Carolina superintendent of public instruction since January 2, 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Truitt previously served as senior advisor on education to North Carolina governor Pat McCrory from 2015 to 2017. She has been the chancellor of the online Western Governors University North Carolina since its establishment in 2017. Truitt ran for reelection in 2024, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Michele Morrow.

Education

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Truitt studied English at the University of Maryland, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1994. She went on to earn a Master of Education from the University of Washington in 1997.[2]

Career

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Teaching career

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According to Truitt, her husband Jeff's role in the U.S. Navy Reserves resulted in frequent moves, and she taught in a variety of locations, including at West Johnston High School in Benson, North Carolina from 2009 to 2012.[3]

Senior education advisor to Governor McCrory

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In October 2015, North Carolina governor Pat McCrory announced his selection of Truitt for senior education advisor to replace Eric Guckian, who left to work for the nonprofit Leadership for Educational Equity. In his announcement, McCrory said that Truitt's selection would "help us to build on the progress we’ve made to ensure every North Carolina student is equipped with the skills they need to begin a career or further their education."[4] Truitt met with demonstrators during a June 2016 protest of McCrory's education policies.[5]

She stayed in the role until McCrory left office after the 2016 gubernatorial election.[3]

Western Governors University North Carolina

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Truitt received an offer in 2017 to serve as chancellor of a new North Carolina affiliate of the online college Western Governors University.[3] She accepted and the school was established in October 2017.[6]

North Carolina superintendent of public instruction

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See also: 2020 North Carolina Council of State elections § Superintendent of Public Instruction

In the run-up to the 2020 elections, Truitt said she would consider a run for North Carolina superintendent of public instruction if incumbent Mark Johnson did not run again.[7] Johnson announced his bid for lieutenant governor in November 2019,[8] and Truitt subsequently entered the race for state superintendent.[9]

Truitt defeated state representative D. Craig Horn in the Republican primary.[10] In the general election, Truitt defeated Democrat Jen Mangrum.[11] She was sworn in on January 2, 2021, and repeated her oath at Governor Roy Cooper's inaugural ceremony on January 9.[12][13]

Truitt ran for reelection in 2024, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Michele Morrow.[14][15]

Electoral history

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North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Republican primary election, 2020[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Catherine Truitt 391,915 56.7
Republican D. Craig Horn 299,578 43.3
Total votes 691,493 100.0
North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction general election, 2020[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Catherine Truitt 2,753,219 51.4 +0.8%
Democratic Jen Mangrum 2,605,169 48.6 −0.8%
Total votes 5,358,388 100.0
Republican hold

Personal life

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Truitt lives in Cary, North Carolina with her husband, Jeff Truitt, a reservist in the U.S. Navy. They have three children.[3][18]

References

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  1. ^ Northam, Mitchell; Jacobs, Rusty (September 21, 2020). "2020 North Carolina Election: Breaking Down Statewide Races". WUNC. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  2. ^ Bell, Alexis (November 23, 2020). "State Superintendent Elect's Plan for Public Schools". Spectrum News. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Hart, Lea (August 30, 2019). "Catherine Truitt". The 2019 Women of Western Wake. Cary Magazine. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  4. ^ Granados, Alex (October 20, 2015). "New senior education advisor joins governor's ranks". EducationNC. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  5. ^ Campbell, Colin (June 15, 2016). "14 arrested at teacher protest in downtown Raleigh". The News & Observer. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  6. ^ Ferraro, Greg (September 3, 2020). "WGU to Grant $1 Million in Online Access Scholarships to Close the Digital Divide Learning Gap". Nevada Business. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  7. ^ Granados, Alex (October 24, 2019). "Rep. Craig Horn for state superintendent? How many people want the top education spot". EducationNC. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  8. ^ Hui, T. Keung (November 12, 2019). "State Superintendent Mark Johnson joins the field seeking to be NC lieutenant governor". The News & Observer. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  9. ^ Granados, Alex (November 12, 2019). "Superintendent Mark Johnson will run for Lt. Gov., so who's running for superintendent?". EducationNC. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  10. ^ Rao, Sonia (March 3, 2020). "Jen Mangrum and Catherine Truitt to face off in November superintendent election". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  11. ^ Rash, Mebane; Granados, Alex (November 4, 2020). "Election Day 2020: 'We have to put students at the center'". EducationNC. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  12. ^ "'We are more connected than we ever imagined': Cooper calls for unity in inaugural address". WRAL. January 9, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  13. ^ Rash, Mebane (January 4, 2021). "State Superintendent Catherine Truitt takes the lead of the Department of Public Instruction". EducationNC. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  14. ^ "Home-school advocate stuns NC schools superintendent incumbent Catherine Truitt in GOP primary". WTVD. March 6, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  15. ^ Robertson, Gary D. (March 6, 2024). "North Carolina schools chief loses primary to home-schooling parent critical of 'radical agendas'". AP News. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  16. ^ "03/03/2020 Official Local Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  17. ^ "11/03/2020 Official Local Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  18. ^ Huffman, Dane (January 8, 2021). "2021 People to Watch: NCDPI Superintendent Catherine Truitt". Triangle Business Journal. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction
2020 		Succeeded by
Michele Morrow
Political offices
Preceded by North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction
2021–present 		Incumbent
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