The North Carolina House of Representatives approved the appointment Tuesday of Reginald Ronald Holley to the UNC Board of Governors by a unanimous vote of 101-0.
Mr. Holley is a Johnston County native and 1982 graduate of south Johnston High School.
Reggie Holley is a product of the public schools of North Carolina and the University of North Carolina System, and he has an abiding love for the University System. While a student at the University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill, he was elected Speaker of the Student Congress and Vice President of the Student Body, and advocated for, among other things, increased diversity and inclusion across the campus.
After graduating, Reggie Holley led the Youth Legislative Assembly for the North Carolina Department of Administration, an organization that teaches North Carolina’s youth about the legislative process and state government. He was director of the State Youth Council in the North Carolina Department of Administration from 1990-2003.
He served as Deputy State Director for U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole from 2003-2009, where he focused on many issues, including addressing the needs of historically black colleges and universities.
Over the past twelve years, Holley served on the UNC Institute for the Environment Board of Visitors. He joined the board in 2007 and served as its chairman from 2016-2019. Presently he is the Chair Emeritus of the Board of Visitors for the School of Environment at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Holley is the founder and principal of The Longmire Group, which provides public affairs consulting and government relations services in North Carolina.
Reggie brings to the UNC Board of Governors a commitment to preserving the University System that has served North Carolina so well for so long to drive the economy and promulgate public good.
House Speaker Tim Moore said, “Our state’s top-tier university system demands outstanding leadership for continued success, and Reggie Holley is an exceptionally well-qualified appointee to the UNC Board of Governors to help North Carolina’s higher education campuses realize unprecedented opportunities ahead.”
Holley will fill the remainder of the term of state Senator Rob Bryan (R-Mecklenburg) on the board, who resigned to fill the General Assembly seat of now-Congressman Dan Bishop.
Holley is an active member of the Johnston County Education Summit. He has a home in Benson but resides in Olivia, NC.
