By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama State Finance Director Clinton Carter is departing his top cabinet post for a senior position in the University of North Carolina System.
Carter has been appointed Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer, UNC System President Margaret Spellings announced Tuesday.
“I am thrilled to welcome Clinton back to North Carolina to join our team at the UNC System,” Spellings said. “His extensive background in finance and budgeting from the highest levels of government, education and the private sector means he’ll make an immediate difference for our students, our institutions, and our taxpayers.”
Carter told Alabama Daily News he had not been seeking to leave the Finance Department and that he had developed a “tremendous love and respect for the bright and hard-working folks” of the department. He said he hopes to return to Alabama one day, but that the opportunity to work in the UNC system was the “right fit for him and his family.”
“It’s a tremendous honor and privilege for me to return to North Carolina and become part of such a storied system of institutions on the forefront of higher education policy,” said Carter. “I want to thank President Spellings for this opportunity, and I look forward to working with her and everyone in the UNC System. I also want to thank Governor Kay Ivey for the opportunity to serve the great people of Alabama.”
Carter will depart for North Carolina in mid-August, and until then plans to continue running the day to day operations of the Finance Department. A spokesman for Gov. Kay Ivey said Carter had informed the governor of his accepting a new position and that plans are underway to find a replacement by mid-August, when
“The Governor’s Office has been informed that Director Carter has accepted another position and will be leaving the Department of Finance in mid-August,” Press Secretary Daniel Sparkman said. “Plans are currently being made in regard to a search for a new director. A transition will be implemented at the appropriate time.”
The Finance Director is one of the top positions in state government, responsible for crafting the governor’s annual budget proposals, ensuring the state’s bills and payroll get paid, and overseeing a department with 13 divisions and 350 employees. Carter has served in the position since 2016 and previously worked as Deputy Finance Director.
This won’t be his first foray into higher education. Carter previously worked as Chief Financial Officer and the Vice President of Finance and Business Affairs at the University of North Alabama in Florence.