State Board of Education Vice Chair Alan Duncan received the 2025 Champion for Children Award during the North Carolina Association of School Administrators’ (NCASA) 2025 Conference on Educational Leadership on Friday, March 28, 2025. The award, given annually to an individual demonstrating leadership in supporting and enhancing public education, recognizes his more than two decades of advocacy on behalf of public schools. He has dedicated his time to the State Board of Education and Guilford County Board of Education, in addition to his service in various other government and community organizations, including but not limited to: Governor Roy Cooper’s Commission on Access to a Sound Basic Education, the North Carolina Task Force for Safer Schools, Ready for School/Ready for Life, Say Yes to Education, and the Guilford Education Alliance.
Throughout his career, Vice Chair Duncan has worked to protect student and teacher safety and enhance student achievement. In his role as Vice Chair of the State Board of Education, he has advocated for addressing difficult but important topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic, school safety improvements, and ensuring accountability in school choice expansion across the state. Before his time on the State Board, he served as Chair of the Guilford County Board of Education, during which he worked tirelessly to protect teacher tenure, champion new initiatives such as cooperative innovative high schools, supported the implementation of a $457 million school bond, and advocated for overall increases in funding for local public schools and their students.
“Vice Chair Duncan is the epitome of a true Champion for Children,” said Katherine Joyce, NCASA’s Executive Director. “He has dedicated significant time and effort throughout his career volunteering in state and local leadership roles, in which he has focused on enhancing learning opportunities for all public school students and in uplifting teachers, administrators and other school personnel.”
As a steady and trusted voice in shaping policies that benefit educators and their students, Vice Chair Duncan’s dedication to addressing systemic challenges and enhancing opportunities for all students will have a positive impact on North Carolina’s public schools for years to come.
“Because all thanks for our successes in education go to our educators, I struggle to think that I am deserving of this award and certainly feel honored beyond all bounds by being the recipient of it,” Mr. Duncan said. “Outside of my family, nothing has given me a sense of purpose more than the work to support our educators and children, who are so deserving of our support. I am grateful for this honor, and I look forward to continuing the work for our children and supporting our educators in the years to come.”
In addition to his efforts to uplift public schools, he currently works as an attorney with Van Laningham Duncan PLLC advocating for his clients in both the state and federal courts in North Carolina and other jurisdictions. With over 40 years of litigation experience, Vice Chair Duncan has become one of the best and most respected lawyers in North Carolina. As a resident of North Carolina for decades, he holds an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Davidson College and his Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University Law School. He currently lives in Greensboro with his wife Pam, who is also a practicing lawyer. Together they have two grown daughters.
