Former Gov. Pat McCrory and former U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre join UNC's IoP

Former Gov. Pat McCrory and former U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-District 7, have joined the UNC Institute of Politics as their spring 2019 fellows.

The IoP is an organization that aims to motivate students to pursue political careers. Its fellows program is meant to provide a chance for students to learn from political practitioners, academics and journalists. Fellows lead weekly non-credit 75-minute seminars that are open to all UNC students.

McCrory was elected as the 74th governor of North Carolina in 2012 and was in office for one term, losing his re-election bid to Roy Cooper in the 2016 gubernatorial election. His seminar is titled “Hard Lessons of Leadership: An Insider’s Look That You Won’t Read In A Textbook.”

McCrory said this opportunity allowed him to complete one of his bucket list items.  

“I had my teaching degree right out of college in 1978, so my goal was to be a high school teacher,” he said. “And in some way, being a mayor, a governor, is a form of being teacher. And I was the director for training for Duke Power for seven years, too. So I’ve always enjoyed teaching.”

He said his goals are to give students a nonpartisan viewpoint and an opportunity to exercise their brains.

“I don’t care what party, what affiliation, it makes no difference to me,” he said. “We need to teach the next generation to get involved in their 20s, 30s, 40s, even after retirement.”

McCrory said he hopes to teach students about his experience as a council member, mayor, governor and businessperson, and that he wants to hear what the next generation of leaders have to say.

McIntyre was a member of the U.S. House for N.C. District 7 from 1997 to 2015. His seminar is titled “Answering the Call Through Public Service & Community Leadership.”

He completed both his bachelor's and law school degrees at UNC.

“It’s like a type of homecoming for me, to come back to the political science department and to able to help the Institute of Politics, which I know is a student-run organization," he said. 

Having spent the last two decades in Washington, D.C., and later in Lumberton, McIntyre said he wishes to inspire young people to know that they can make a difference right where they are.

McIntyre said his motive to become a political science major at UNC was an interest in helping his community and the country. He said when he wanted to go to Washington, D.C., people around him did not understand his motives.

Patrick Bradey, director of the Fellows Program, said McCrory and McIntyre were chosen because of the timely conversation they can bring to students.

“They are both fairly recent actors on the political stage,” he said. “Because their issues are on the forefront on students’ minds and the national conversation, those are going to be exciting conversation points for students to jump on with the fellows.”

Bradey said IoP always invites two fellows who have diverse viewpoints.

“Something that is very central to the Fellows Program is that we have two fellows each semester, and we always have one fellow that is right of center, and one fellow who is one left of center," he said. "It’s a keeping of our nonpartisan value.”

Bradey also said having McCrory in the program is a chance for students to be engaged with a different perspective.

Some students are looking forward to hearing what the new fellows have to say.

“Just being able to hear from another side is what we’re missing in the country right now," said Joshua Greene, a UNC political science student who attended McCrory's seminar on Feb. 6. "We talk past each other, not listen to each other. So building that dialogue is a really good thing.”

They will present their respective seminars on Wednesdays and Thursdays during the course of the semester. 

@CrystalYu_

city@dailytarheel.com