Dr. Janet Spriggs

Laureate 2025

Dr. Janet N. Spriggs, the seventh President of Forsyth Technical Community College, assumed her role on January 1, 2019. With nearly three decades of leadership experience within the North Carolina Community College System, her career began in 1996, demonstrating unwavering commitment to community college leadership. Before joining Forsyth Tech, she made significant contributions as the Chief Operating Officer at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Carteret Community College.

Dr. Spriggs’ leadership has been nationally recognized through the Aspen Institute’s Community College Excellence Program. She holds the Aspen Presidential Fellow title, having received this honor twice. Initially, she was among the 40 leaders nationwide chosen for the 2018-2019 Aspen Rising Presidential Fellowship. Subsequently, in 2020, she was part of the inaugural cohort of the Aspen New Presidents Fellowship, representing one of the 25 community college presidents selected for this prestigious program.

Dr. Spriggs’ journey echoes the theme of “Roots and Wings.” Her story begins in North Carolina, where she is deeply rooted in the values of faith, family, and hard work instilled by her loving parents and grandparents. As a former community college student, she walked the path she now leads others on. She was a community college student at Rockingham Community College and Durham Technical Community College, experiencing firsthand the transformative power of community college education. Dr. Spriggs earned her doctorate in higher education administration from Northeastern University. Her passion is in the power of education to change lives and community colleges’ vital role as catalysts for equitable access to postsecondary education and workforce and economic development. As a student-centered visionary, Dr. Spriggs fosters high-quality learning, strives to improve completion, advances equity of success for all students, and commits to expanding post-graduation success. In addition to her doctorate, she holds a master’s degree from Nova Southeastern University and a bachelor’s degree from Roger Williams University.

Dr. Spriggs champions the community college as a pivotal engine for breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty and advancing economic prosperity and workforce development. Embodying her conviction that “At the heart of remarkable leadership lies the courage to dream, the strength to care, and the power of authentic relationships” (Dr. Janet N. Spriggs, 2023), she is committed to a student-centered approach, emphasizing quality learning, and nurturing a culture of belonging for each and every student.

Beyond her presidency, Dr. Spriggs contributes her expertise to several boards and commissions, including serving on the executive committee and board of directors for Greater Winston-Salem, Inc., as Vice President for the American Association of Women in Community Colleges, affecting change both within and outside the academic sphere. She warmly invites engagement and dialogue through her Live Your Purpose Leadership website at JanetSpriggs.com, where she explores the intersections of vision, heart, and the strength of our relationships.

In her life’s partnership with her husband Doug, spanning almost 40 years, Janet’s life outside her educational advocacy is equally rich and fulfilling. She finds joy and relaxation by navigating the fairways on a golf course with Doug, capturing precious memories through photography, creating crochet gifts from her heart for friends and family, or losing herself in the pages of a book. Yet, above all, Janet cherishes the moments spent with their five children and five grandchildren, who are a constant wellspring of inspiration and a poignant reminder of the most important legacies we are meant to cultivate in our lives.