Michael E. Ward was Superintendent of Public Instruction

North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction

The North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction is the elected head of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and oversees the public school systems of the state. The Superintendent is currently an elected member of the North Carolina Council of State, chosen in a partisan...

 for the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 state of North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 from 1996 to 2004.

Born in Franklin County, North Carolina

Franklin County, North Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 47,260 people, 17,843 households, and 12,882 families residing in the county. The population density was 96 people per square mile . There were 20,364 housing units at an average density of 41 per square mile...

, Ward attended North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

. Upon graduation, he was employed as a public school teacher and later a principal before serving as superintendent of public schools in Granville County

Granville County, North Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 59,916 people in 20,628 households residing in the county. The population density was 111.6 people per square mile . There were 22,827 housing units at an average density of 42.5 per square mile...

. After being named North Carolina's 'Superintendent of the Year' in 1994, Ward was elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1996. A Democrat, Ward was elected to a second term in 2000; he chose not to stand for reelection in 2004. In August 2004, Ward stepped down from his position prematurely to join his wife, Hope Morgan Ward

Hope Morgan Ward

Hope Morgan Ward is a bishop in the United Methodist Church, elected and consecrated to the episcopacy in 2004.Ward graduated from Duke University in 1973 with an A.B. degree in English and Religion. She entered seminary at Duke Divinity School and completed the M.Div. degree in 1978.Bishop Ward...

 who had accepted a position as a Methodist bishop in Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

; Patricia N. Willoughby

Patricia N. Willoughby

Patricia N. Willoughby is a North Carolina educator. She was appointed by Governor Mike Easley as the interim North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction in September 2004, following the resignation of Mike Ward, and served the remaining months of Ward's term.A new superintendent was to...

 was appointed to fill the position for the remainder of Ward's term. Ward has two children, Jason and Brooke. Jason Ward was a 2001 Teach For America

Teach For America

Teach For America is an American non-profit organization that aims to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation's most promising future leaders to teach for two or more years in low-income communities throughout the United States...

corps member in the Mississippi Delta region.