WILSON, N.C. — April 4, 2022 — J. Eric Boyette, Secretary for the N.C. Department of Transportation, will be the featured speaker at the 120th annual commencement exercises of Barton College scheduled for Saturday, May 14, on center campus at 10:30 a.m.
Boyette was named Secretary for the N.C. Department of Transportation by Governor Roy Cooper in February 2020. As transportation secretary, Boyette oversees one of the largest state-maintained highway systems in the nation, and all modes of transportation, including aviation, ferries, rail, public transit and bicycle and pedestrian transportation, as well as the Office of Civil Rights and Division of Motor Vehicles.
He is the chairman of the N.C. Turnpike Authority Board of Directors and serves on the State Ports Authority Board of Directors and State Emergency Response Commission.
Boyette brings more than 25 years of state government experience in various roles, with responsibilities ranging from technical to financial practices. He previously served as the secretary and state chief information officer for the N.C. Department of Information Technology. He has also held several key roles at NCDOT, including chief information officer, inspector general and Division of Motor Vehicles commissioner.
As secretary and state chief information officer at NCDIT, Boyette led the state department responsible for all IT procurement, state cybersecurity, operational services, broadband infrastructure, solutions division, data analytics center, the N.C. 911 Board and strategic IT planning.
He has been recognized numerous times for serving North Carolina with distinction. In 2019, he was awarded Golden Gov: State Executive of the Year and GovTech’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers. He was also named Public Sector CIO of the Year by NC Tech (2019) and the Triangle Business Journal (2016). He received the Old North State Award in 2017, and achieved Eagle Scout rank, the Boy Scouts of America’s highest award, in 1989.
Boyette earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration at Barton College in 1994. He is a Kenly native, where he lives with his wife Dana, son, Jay, and daughter, Morgan, and serves on the board for the Kenly Volunteer Fire Department.
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