Todd Roberts, Chancellor, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM)

Invest: sat down with Todd Roberts, chancellor of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM), to discuss how the school is expanding access to advanced STEM learning and strengthening North Carolina’s talent pipeline. “Talent development starts with recognizing a basic truth: There’s talent everywhere, and zip code can shape opportunity, but it doesn’t define ability,” Roberts said.

How has the past year shaped NCSSM’s priorities as demand grows for advanced STEM education across North Carolina?

Over the past three years, we’ve expanded significantly. NCSSM was the first school of its kind in the country, opening in Durham in 1980. As demand has grown and interest in STEM has accelerated, we opened a second campus in 2022 in western North Carolina, in Morganton, to create more opportunities for more students across the state.

We were created to help build North Carolina’s STEM pipeline more than four decades ago, and that need has only intensified. Today, our priorities reflect growth in both scale and reach: serving more students and expanding the ways we deliver high-quality STEM experiences statewide.

NCSSM is known for its residential campuses, but it also offers virtual and summer programs. How do those models fit into the school’s mission?

Our mission has always been about expanding opportunity. North Carolina has places with deep resources, but it also has rural regions where students don’t have the same access. So we think a lot about how to reach students wherever they live.

In addition to our residential campuses in Durham and Morganton, we run a robust virtual program that serves students across North Carolina through synchronous video conferencing and online courses. We also offer summer programs. These programs are STEM-focused and designed to bring high-quality opportunities to students who may not otherwise have them.

From your perspective, how has demand for STEM education shifted, and what does that say about where education is headed in North Carolina?

The demand for STEM talent has been evident for a long time, and North Carolina has been strategic about responding to it. That’s why the state created NCSSM in 1980: to help move the economy toward a more knowledge-based, science-focused future.

You do that by investing in talent early. In the Triangle, we’re surrounded by universities with strong STEM and health science programs, and we help prepare students from across the state to succeed in those environments and ultimately meet workforce needs.

Companies continue to locate in this region because there is talent here, and much of that talent is developed through a long-term commitment to education. We play a role in that pipeline.

How does NCSSM fit within the broader higher education ecosystem in the state?

NCSSM is part of the University of North Carolina System. We’re one of 17 campuses, and we’re the only one that is a high school. But we’re treated like the other campuses in the system, and we share the broader goal of increasing the number of STEM graduates in North Carolina.

About 75% of our students go on to attend a UNC System institution, with many choosing UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State. Nearly 70% of our alumni earn a STEM degree, which is about four times the national average. That shows the model is doing what it was set up to do: building a pipeline to higher education and the workforce.

How is the talent development conversation influencing partnerships between K-12 education, higher ed, and employers?

Talent development starts with recognizing a basic truth: There’s talent everywhere, and zip code can shape opportunity, but it doesn’t define ability. The question is how we build systems that expose students earlier to STEM pathways and then support them through the points where many students fall out of the pipeline.

Universities and employers can help by partnering with K-12 education to attract students early and support them through mentorships, internships, and real-world exposure. Students need to understand what it means to be an engineer, a computer scientist, or a chemist, not just hear those job titles.

Even if a student chooses not to enter a STEM career, the skills they gain still matter. STEM learning builds problem-solving and informed citizenship.

NCSSM’s model is competitive and specialized. How do you view access and representation?

Our admissions process is highly competitive, but it’s designed to ensure statewide representation. We’re required to admit students from all 14 congressional districts in North Carolina, which helps ensure we serve students from across the state, not just from a single region. This helps ensure that we have students from rural and urban communities, as well as students often underrepresented in STEM fields, which is critical to growing the STEM pipeline. 

What challenges do you see ahead in sustaining public funding, philanthropy, and infrastructure for specialized education models?

At every level of education, long-term impact requires investment. One of the strengths of the United States historically has been investment in education and scientific research, because that funding drives innovation, job creation, and economic growth.

We’re fortunate at NCSSM to have strong support from the state of North Carolina, and we’ve also benefited from significant philanthropic investment. We recently completed what we believe was the largest fundraising campaign in U.S. history for a public high school, raising $86 million to support new opportunities.

Those funds are helping us build programs in artificial intelligence, data science, and entrepreneurship. That kind of investment is critical, and I would argue we need sustained investment in K-12 broadly to support opportunity and talent development statewide.

Looking ahead, how do you see NCSSM’s role evolving over the next decade in strengthening North Carolina’s talent pipeline and economic resilience?

We’ll continue expanding access, but it won’t be one-size-fits-all. The residential model is powerful, and our virtual programs scale opportunity in a different way. Another area of growth is teacher professional development. For example, our data science program is helping K-12 teachers learn how to infuse data science into their curriculum, because data science shows up in science, math, and beyond.

That approach is a multiplier. Each teacher touches many students each year, so supporting educators can help us reach far more students than we could through campus-based enrollment alone.

We’re also paying close attention to the role of artificial intelligence in education. AI can be beneficial, but we want to make sure students are still learning to think critically and create, not only to use technology.

What do you see as the balance between STEM rigor and the broader skills students need to lead, especially as AI accelerates?

One of the most important points is that strong STEM education shouldn’t come at the expense of the skills that drive real innovation. At NCSSM, our largest academic department is humanities, which includes world languages, English, and fine arts.

Students need the ability to think critically and express themselves clearly in writing and speech. Those skills are foundational for leadership, collaboration, and creativity, including in STEM fields. When I talk to alumni, many say those humanities experiences were as formative as anything else they did.

As AI becomes more embedded in education and work, we have to be even more deliberate about preparing students to be imaginative, critical thinkers with judgment and perspective.

How does NCSSM expand educational opportunities for students across North Carolina?

It’s important to emphasize that NCSSM is tuition-free. There’s no tuition, room, or board. That removes a financial barrier that would otherwise keep talented students from accessing an experience that can be transformational.

One example is astronaut Christina Koch, an NCSSM alumna who graduated in 1997. She’s a North Carolinian from a rural community, and she’s also a graduate of NC State University. She spent the longest time in space of any woman on the International Space Station, and she is part of the Artemis II crew. Her story is one of many that show what happens when you invest in talent and provide access to high-quality education.