11/06/2008

A&S Alumna Elected First Female Governor of North Carolina

University of Kentucky alumna Beverly Eaves Perdue will become the first female governor in the history of North Carolina. Perdue, who had previously served as lieutenant governor of the state, won the gubernatorial election held Nov. 4, defeating Charlotte, N.C., mayor Pat McCrory by 3 percentage points. Perdue, who earned a bachelor's degree in history from UK in 1969, was inducted into the UK College of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 2006.

Perdue is a former public school teacher and a former director of geriatrics at a community hospital. Before becoming lieutenant governor, Perdue also served in the North Carolina House of Representatives for two terms and the North Carolina Senate for five terms. During Perdue’s last six years in the Senate, she served as one of the state’s chief budget writers—the first woman to hold this position.  Under her leadership, the General Assembly made teacher pay a priority. She was a key leader in the fight for clean water and clean air and was the legislator who led the debate that created the Clean Water Management Trust Fund.