College News

CCCC recognizes support of Kirk J. Bradley

02.21.2022 • College & Community, College General, Foundation

PITTSBORO - Kirk J. Bradley has been an integral part of the greater Central Carolina area for many years. His community involvement has included strong support and commitment to Central Carolina Community College.

In his honor, the college's student center at CCCC's Chatham Health Sciences Center (CHSC) is now recognized as the Kirk J. Bradley Student Center. A celebration of this recognition took place on Friday, Feb. 18, at the CCCC CHSC facility located in the Briar Chapel area of Chatham County. Programs at the facility include Medical Assisting, Nurse Aide, EMS (Emergency Medical Services)/EMT (Emergency Medical Technician), Health & Fitness Science, and BioWork.

"It is wonderful to have partners who are great strategic thinkers; however, it's best to have someone who's not only a strategic thinker but who also has the ability to get things done. I think that Kirk is the epitome of that," said CCCC President Dr. Lisa M. Chapman. "He has been as supportive as any community member the college could ask for."

Also saluting Mr. Bradley were Lynda Turbeville, Chair of the CCCC Foundation Board of Directors, and George Lucier, member of the CCCC Board of Trustees and the CCCC Foundation Board of Directors.

Mr. Bradley and his wife, Deanne, toured the facility before the celebration that included college officials, family and friends.

"The commitment that our elected officials have made, our school boards have made, and the community college has made is making a difference," said Mr. Bradley. "I thank you for this honor ... I thank you for the opportunity and all my friends and family that came today to support me in this. It's just a real honor. And I thank you."

Mr. Bradley currently serves as Chairman, President, and CEO of Lee-Moore Capital Company in Sanford - a private, family-owned business that operates in the real estate investment and venture capital industries. Currently, Mr. Bradley is active as Manager of Eco CP Partners LLC in the development of Mosaic at Chatham Park, a 750,000-square-foot mixed use project, as well as Northwood Landing in Chatham County. He also is President of the Governors Club Development Corp., which developed the 27-hole Jack Nicklaus community of the same name -- as well as the mixed-use community Governors Village.

Also, Central Carolina Enterprise Park is a 240-acre industrial property in Sanford developed by Mr. Bradley in 2016. It is a public/private project with the City of Sanford, County of Lee, Lee-Moore Capital, and local investors, along with Samet Corporation.

Mr. Bradley has been involved in several other residential, retail and commercial projects in North and South Carolina, including the 260,000-sq.-ft. Wal-Mart Supercenter anchored Huffman Mill Plaza in Burlington, N.C.

"I've been blessed by supportive parents who believed in education that prepared me for my career. Since then, my wife and daughters have provided tremendous support to me throughout my life," says Mr. Bradley. "As to our company, we've always had great people and being in Sanford has been a true blessing. Lee and Chatham Counties are great places to invest and do business. I've known that my entire career, I'm just glad the rest of the world is catching up!"

His philanthropic and civic involvement has included Chair of the innovative Central Carolina Works program, in which he helped to conceptualize and raise the $750,000 seed capital for the program.

"I'm very proud to have been a part of it. I think it fundamentally sets the CCCC service area apart in North Carolina and that's why we are having so much economic development success," says Mr. Bradley.

Central Carolina Works served as an educational initiative by a consortium including Central Carolina Community College, education (Chatham County Schools, Harnett County Schools, and Lee County Schools), business, industry, and community leaders.

CCW funded the placement of career coaches in each of the public high schools in Chatham, Harnett, and Lee counties. Career coaches work one-on-one with students to help them take advantage of the state-funded Career and College Promise (CCP) program.

CCP enables high school students to enroll, tuition-free, in college credit courses that also apply toward their high school diploma. By the time they graduate from high school, they have a jump-start on their career or college education.

"Central Carolina Works was designed and conceived to help the student and their family who may not know what post K-12 education and employment is best suited for their interests and abilities," says Mr. Bradley. "By providing a trained professional to help these students understand both curriculum and workforce outcomes available through CCCC, they can make better choices earlier in their middle and high school years.

"I am a firm believer that all students should be on a minimum K-14 path if not seeking further education. By making them aware of the Career and College Promise, these students can get almost a year of first- and second-year post high school education while still in high school. The skills and qualifications received during this period leading to a certificate, diploma, or degree will make these students competitive in the 21st Century global economy."

Mr. Bradley's was among family members who worked with the CCCC Foundation to establish a scholarship in honor of his grandmother - Erma Carlisle Proctor, who was a lifelong educator. In addition, the Truby G. Proctor Jr. Scholarship honors his uncle.

Mr. Bradley says that CCCC's importance in the Central Carolina area is essential. "No one should try to enter today's workforce with just a high school diploma. CCCC provides the pathway to technical certifications or further academic credentials to so many of our citizens," said Mr. Bradley. "Further, CCCC is a vital partner to recruitment of new industry as well as terrific partner to existing industry. No question in my mind that [CCCC President] Dr. [Lisa] Chapman participating in the process and able to address questions and concerns on workforce is why we successfully landed Astellas Gene Therapies (formerly Audentes Therapeutics), as well as many others."

His support of educational endeavors includes his current service as a member of The University of North Carolina Board of Governors. In addition, he has served as a past chair of the Lee County Education Foundation and worked on the launch of the Head of Class project, he was a co-chair with current CCCC Trustee Jan Hayes on the efforts to increase funding for capital improvements for the Lee County School System and Central Carolina Community College, and was a member of the Gates Foundation sponsored Education Matters committee focused on Pre-K-14 education in Lee County.

"Kirk Bradley is a leader in championing the power of education as a local and regional economic driver," says Dr. Chapman. "His intentional engagement with K-12 and postsecondary educators along with his ability to bring private and public leaders together to develop and implement innovative programming and partnerships significantly advance talent pipeline development. Central Carolina Community College is honored to have Mr. Bradley as a strategic partner."

How did support for education become such a passion for Mr. Bradley?

"I know the best way for a person to advance themselves is to get advanced credentials beyond a high school education. Be that technical or academic credentials, it's essential in today's global economy. Therefore, Education = Economic Development," said Mr. Bradley. "We can't improve our communities in terms of quality of life without good paying jobs. We can't recruit those jobs to our communities without a trained workforce."

Mr. Bradley's other civic involvement includes:

• He is the Immediate Past Chair of the Heart Center Advisory Board at Duke University Medical Center and formerly served on the Board of Visitors of DUMC.
• He is the past Chairman of the American Battlefield Trust (formerly Civil War Preservation Trust), whose mission is to save American Battlefields and spearheaded the effort to develop a North Carolina Civil War Trail (opened March 2005) as a mechanism to help North Carolina promote Heritage Tourism.
• He served as a Director for Old Chatham Golf Club and as Director Emeritus of the Alumni Board of the Terry College of Business of The University of Georgia.
• He serves on the UNC Eship Center Leadership Council and on the Boys & Girls Club of Central Carolina Foundation.
• He has previously served as Chairperson of the Fuqua Alumni Council, on the Board of Visitors of Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, as Chairperson of The Jazz Foundation of North Carolina, Inc., and as a Director of Triangle Land Conservancy and UNC's Institute for the Environment.

Mr. Bradley received his MBA in 1986 from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business in Finance and Real Estate and his BBA in 1984 from the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business in Management Information Systems. His postgraduate studies included M & A (Mergers & Acquisitions) work at Northwestern's Kellogg School and the Management Program for Mid-size Businesses at Duke's Fuqua School of Business. Industry associations include Urban Land Institute and International Council of Shopping Centers. He is a licensed real estate broker in North Carolina.

Mr. Bradley and his wife, Deanne, reside in Chapel Hill. They have two daughters - and welcomed their first grandchild in June 2021.

"Kirk J. Bradley is an incredible business leader who has been a champion in his support for education - especially Central Carolina Community College," said Dr. Emily C. Hare, CCCC Foundation Executive Director. "His vision for providing life-changing educational opportunities will long benefit our region and our state. Thank you, Mr. Bradley, for your philanthropic and civic involvement in helping to make our world a better place."

For information on giving to the CCCC Foundation, contact Dr. Emily C. Hare, Executive Director of the CCCC Foundation, 919-718-7230, or ehare@cccc.edu.

In honor of the strong support and commitment Kirk J. Bradley (center) has provided to Central Carolina Community College, the college's student center at CCCC's Chatham Health Sciences Center (CHSC) is now recognized as the Kirk J. Bradley Student Center. A celebration of this recognition took place on Friday, Feb. 18, at the CCCC CHSC facility located in Chatham County. Among those joining in the celebration were former CCCC President Dr. T. Eston "Bud" Marchant (left) and current CCCC President Dr. Lisa M. Chapman (right).

Kirk J. Bradley (standing on stairway) addresses a portion of the guests who attended a celebration at Central Carolina Community College's Chatham Health Science Center (CHSC) in recognition of the naming of the Kirk J. Bradley Student Center.

Kirk J. Bradley (center) and wife Deanne (left) visit with Central Carolina Community College Foundation Board of Directors Chair Lynda Turbeville (right) in the Kirk J. Bradley Student Center located on CCCC's Chatham Health Science (CHSC). Ms. Turbeville noted in her comments: 'Kirk Bradley is a visionary who has changed the educational footprint for thousands of students. Due to his dedication, he has impacted the lives of countless students who have gone forward to achieve their educational dreams and goals.'

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