Harold Martin Lancaster, O.B.E. (born March 24, 1943) is an American politician who is the former President of the

North Carolina Community College System The North Carolina Community College System (System Office) is a statewide network of 58 public community colleges. The system enrolls nearly 600,000 students annually. It also provides the North Carolina Learning Object Repository as a central ...

and former

Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of the National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges. He was also

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

from 1987 to 1995.

Life and career

Lancaster was raised on a

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

farm in

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

Wayne County, North Carolina Wayne County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 117,333. Its county seat is Goldsboro, and it is home to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. Wayne County comprises the Goldsboro, ...

and spent his childhood working in the fields; he went to the small local school and participated in local church youth activities. In 1957, he served as a Page in the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, who holds powers si ...

and in 1959, as Chief Page. In 1961, Lancaster went to the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, and entered the law school at UNC after his junior year in college as a Law Alumni Scholar, graduating in 1967. After graduating, he joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, serving on active duty as a

judge advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

for three years, eighteen months of which were spent on the USS ''Hancock'' (CV-19) off the coast of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. Lancaster continued to serve as a reservist until 1993. After his military service he returned to North Carolina and set up a law practice with a college classmate. In 1977,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Jim Hunt James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the List of governors of North Carolina, 69th and 71st governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governo ...

appointed him

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the North Carolina Arts Council, a position he held for four years. This led to elective office, first to eight years in the

and ultimately to the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

. In Congress, he served on the

Armed Services A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

Small Business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being ...

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, and Merchant Marine &

Fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

Committees. His major committee was Armed Services. Lancaster also represented the House for six years at the Chemical Weapons Convention negotiations in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. Lancaster was reelected three times without serious difficulty. However, in 1994 he faced a very credible Republican challenger in Walter B. Jones, Jr., a former Democratic

state Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

who had recently switched parties. Lancaster's district had absorbed a large amount of the territory once represented by Jones' father, Walter B. Jones, Sr., in the 1990s round of redistricting. The race was initially fairly close until Walter, Jr. circulated a picture of Lancaster jogging with

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, whose socially liberal stances (especially on allowing gays in the military) had angered voters in this socially conservative Eastern North Carolina district. In the general election, Jones defeated Lancaster by almost six points—one of many moderate Democrats in the South to be defeated in the Republican landslide that year. Lancaster worked briefly for Governor

handling federal issues. President Clinton then asked that he assist him with the ratification of the

Chemical Weapons Convention The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), officially the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, is an arms control treaty administered by the Organisation for ...

, which he accepted. In the fall of 1995, the president nominated Lancaster to become Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, a position for which the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

confirmed him in January 1996. In this capacity, Lancaster was primarily responsible for policy development and advocacy for the Army Corps of Engineers before the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

, the White House, and the Congress. In 1997, Lancaster was chosen President of the

. Lancaster sought to increase state and private funding for facilities, equipment, faculty salaries and instruction and to strengthen the system's essential role in workforce and economic development. He led community college participation in the successful Higher Education Bond referendum of 2000, which included $600 million for community college construction, repair and renovation. He focused particular efforts on increasing the role of community colleges in preparing "homegrown teachers" for public schools and in workforce training for biotechnology and other high–tech industries. In the summer of 2003, he was elected Chair of the National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges. In March 2007, Lancaster announced that he would retire as system president in the spring of 2008. After the announcement, a column in the (Raleigh)

News and Observer ''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the '' Charlotte Observer''). The paper has be ...

praised his service, comparing him to former UNC system president William C. Friday. The columnist wrote that "Lancaster has well-served all of the ollegesby making it clear to legislators that community colleges are a key, perhaps ''the'' key, to the state's economic growth and recruitment of jobs." He was named President Emeritus of the community college system in April 2008. In March 2008, Lancaster announced that in September he would be joining the largest law firm in Raleigh, North Carolina
Smith Anderson Blount Dorsett Mitchell & Jernigan
He will serve in an "

of counsel Of counsel is the title of an attorney in the legal profession of the United States who often has a relationship with a law firm or an organization but is neither an associate nor partner. Some firms use titles such as "counsel", "special couns ...

" position with the firm, concentrating in regulatory and administrative law. In February 2009, Lancaster joined Dawson & Associates in Washington, DC as a senior advisor on Federal transportation and environmental policy. Lancaster was made an Honorary Officer of the

Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

by Queen Elizabeth II in 2011, for his services to the people of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

.Prince Charles lauds Lancaster

References

External links

Retrieved on 2008-03-31

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lancaster, Martin 1943 births Living people People from Wayne County, North Carolina Military personnel from North Carolina United States Navy sailors University of North Carolina School of Law alumni North Carolina lawyers Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina Community College System Clinton administration personnel Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly