As Chancellor Pat Sullivan's tenure draws to a close, corporate and foundation leaders have reflected on her legacy and leadership style. Above all, Chancellor Sullivan is known for her skills in developing and maintaining relationships. Ed Kitchen, Board Chair of the Gateway University Research Park and Vice President of the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation, thinks of how she has applied that talent to make the Park a reality.

Chancellor Sullivan with Ed Kitchen

“From the beginning, she championed the Gateway University Research Park and made sure that private sector and community stakeholders were fully engaged with its development,” he said. “She strongly encourages faculty and staff to reach out to business and grow the entrepreneurial culture of the campus. We could not have had a better advocate for these relationships in Greensboro and the Triad.”

She's known, too, for the partnerships she has forged, especially with NC A&T. Alumna and past trustee Sue Cole sees Sullivan's skill as having recognized “the need to build a strong education partnership that extended beyond UNCG. She collaborated with peers at other institutions to create one of the strongest regional educational systems anywhere. Perhaps the best example of her leadership is the Gateway University Research Park.”

Tom Sloan with Chancellor Sullivan

Pat Sullivan understood the Park as an economic developer would; she knew the region needed new enterprises to replace those lost in the old economies. And, Cole says, “as a scientist she understood the opportunity in nanoscience and nanoengineering and, as an educator, she knew what it would take to get it funded and built.”

Great growth and change have marked the tenure of Pat Sullivan, according to former trustee Tom Sloan. “Growth has been manifested in the significant increase in the size of our student body, campus facilities, research funding, and endowment.”

Trustee Skip Moore also notes “the more than $150 million in increased endowment” that has come from Pat Sullivan's work with alumni and the local community. He also credits “her focus on academic planning — for the number of new doctoral and other programs that fit into the future of this area and of North Carolina.”

Susan Schwartz with Chancellor Sullivan

There is a striking difference in the physical appearance of the campus. Cemala Foundation Director Susan Schwartz notes, “Pat Sullivan has led UNCG in its new look of architecturally innovative buildings and in its assent to a top-notch research institution.” Among her accomplishments, Schwartz singles out Pat Sullivan's “leadership in promoting a regional focus on design.”

Billy Nutt, President and CEO of AIG United Guaranty, recognizes that Chancellor Sullivan has had “the unique vision and foresight to recognize the benefits possible through partnerships with the area's exceptional array of colleges and universities. Area businesses are not able to attract and retain top talent directly from within our community.”

Pat Sullivan has both style and substance, according to Walker Sanders, President of the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro. “From my perspective, Chancellor Sullivan has positioned UNCG as a community resource that is finally being recognized and respected for the impact it has on our community. UNCG is one of Greensboro's primary economic engines and her leadership has played a critical role in positioning the University to realize this opportunity. Her passion, devotion and commitment have extended beyond the family of UNCG and well into all parts of the community. We will miss her style of leadership.”

As someone who promotes leadership through the international grocery alliance he leads, IGA Global, and the THA Foundation, Thomas Haggai of High Point understands leadership, and Pat Sullivan has impressed him:

Now in my 52nd year of living in Guilford County while bouncing around the world with our IGA business, there is no single individual who has moved here during the past half century who I admire more than Chancellor Pat Sullivan. She inherited one of the best schools of Education that is the anchor for our THA grants to nontraditional students. Under her leadership, all the schools of the university have reached the same high level. One cannot spend five minutes with her and not be caught up in the passion and compassion that she brings daily to her position in preparing UNCG for the 21st Century. She is tireless in recruiting a quality faculty while preserving the attractive teacher/pupil ratio. Their effectiveness is enhanced by the carefully selected support staff. This has an untold economic benefit for all of us.

Lee McAllister, President and CEO of Weaver Investment Company, sums up Pat Sullivan's contribution, “Her insight and understanding of UNCG's role in economic development as meant a great deal to our city. She will be missed.”