K. Ray Bailey will receive the Chancellor's Medallion on December 15.

UNC Asheville will honor K. Ray Bailey, president emeritus of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College and long-time champion of higher education in Western North Carolina, with the Chancellor's Medallion Saturday. UNC Asheville Chancellor Anne Ponder will present the award, the University's highest non-academic distinction, to Bailey during the Winter Commencement Ceremony. The medallion is given at the discretion of the Chancellor to honor individuals who demonstrate the highest commitment to community service, public leadership or enhancement to the University.

"I am honored and humbled that Chancellor Ponder has bestowed upon me this prestigious award," said Bailey. "My effort at A-B Tech has been to foster the relationship between our college and the university and to provide opportunities to change people's lives."

Bailey, who served as president of A-B Tech for 17 years, was known for creating effective partnerships with business and industry, other community colleges, schools and four-year colleges to enhance the region's economic development. Thanks, in part, to Bailey's efforts, A-B Tech and UNC Asheville have a long history of collaboration. The two institutions work together on the Bridge Program, which offers UNC Asheville humanities courses to A-B Tech students who are considering transferring to the University; UNC Asheville's Applied Visualization Lab is located on A-B Tech's Enka Campus; the two institutions are collaborating with a number of other local agencies on programs and planning for the North Carolina Center for Health & Wellness, which will open on UNC Asheville's campus in 2010; and there is ongoing collaboration in offering lateral entry classes to K-12 teachers in the area.

Bailey is equally as active in the greater community. He has served as a board member and chair of more than 30 civic organizations and was named one of the most influential people in Buncombe County in a survey of community leaders conducted by The Asheville Citizen-Times. In 2006, he received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina's highest civilian honor for extraordinary service to the state.

"Ray Bailey has been a tremendous resource to the education community in our region for decades. I speak from personal experience as only one of many who have benefited from his valuable advice and superb colleagueship," said Chancellor Anne Ponder. "UNC Asheville is especially honored that he will be joining us for our Winter Commencement, where so many successful A-B Tech students will be with us, processing as UNC Asheville graduates."

Related Links

• History of UNC Asheville's Chancellor's Medallion

• Winter Commencement Press Release

• Detailed Commencement Information for Graduates and Families

• Podcast of Bailey's Commencement Address