DR. BRYAN SETSER

Chief Executive Officer of North Carolina Virtual Public School

"Increasingly, American economic leadership is based on our ability to maintain an edge in innovation. And that ability to innovate derives from the quality of our education system and the critical thinking ability of the next generation. Bryan Setser is one of the few leaders out there lighting the way for a brighter future for our country by daring to challenge assumptions and help educators take full advantage of the information age. I am proud that he chose North Carolina as the place to begin. He is a state and national asset."
-Richard Boyd, Chief Architect, Lockheed Martin Virtual Labs

Since his hire in December of 2007 by the State Board of North Carolina, Dr. Setser's innovative practices and transformative leadership style have tripled online enrollment to over 36,000 students, standards and test scores have risen dramatically in all subject areas, and Dr. Setser continues to provide a vision that is well on its way to establishing the North Carolina Virtual Public School and Learn and Earn Online as national models for e-learning as the North Carolina Virtual Public School is ranked 8th in the nation.

Dr. Setser serves on the North Carolina Distance Learning Association's Board, is a member of the Leadership for Innovation Committee of the North Carolina State Board of Education. Moreover, he sits on the E-learning Commission for North Carolina, and is a member of the National Advisory Boards for Wimba and NBC Learn. Dr. Setser also serves as a Southern Association of Colleges and Schools evaluator and works as a Baldrige National Examiner of world class organizations for the United States Department of Commerce.

A sought after state and national speaker, Dr. Setser regularly appears at state and national conferences, such as the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the American Educational Research Association, the National Virtual School Symposium, Apple's Executive Academies, the Southern Regional Education Board, the State Virtual Leaders Alliance, and the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference to name a few. Dr. Setser also blogs extensively and his work has been published in print on several occasions throughout his career.

Notable accomplishments include:

• Centennial National High School English Teacher of the Year by Philadelphia University
• A three time high school soccer conference and regional coach of the year
• Awarded the Jack McCall Leadership Award from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by the Principals' Executive Program
• Principal of the Year - Union County Public Schools
• During his tenure as Chief Quality Officer for the Iredell-Statesville School district, the district was one of the first thirty in the Southeastern United States to receive SACS district accreditation.
• Setser's work with the America Quality and Productivity Council established the district as a national best practice site for staff development
• Holds a doctorate from University of North Carolina at Charlotte, an educational specialist degree from UNC-Charlotte, a master's degree in educational leadership from Winthrop University, and a bachelor's degree in English from East Carolina University.
• Adjunct professor - North Carolina State University
• Dr. Setser lives in Raleigh , North Carolina and has two children, Sydney (12) and Sims (6).

NCVPS - Learn and Earn Online Staff Bios
(pdf, 329kb)