Update 7/30: Trustee Kelly Lowder resigned from the Stanly Community College board at a Wednesday meeting, according to a statement from the Board of Trustees. A Stanly Community College trustee’s Facebook post last week drew social media backlash and criticisms of racism, prompting the school to say publicly that trustees’ posts don’t represent the school or its policies. Lowder was appointed to the Stanly Community College Board of Trustees by the General Assembly in 2024 for a four-year term. Stanly Community College was founded in 1971 in the county about an hour northeast of Charlotte. The college recently qualified as a finalist for the 2027 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, and it has a graduation rate that exceeds the national average.