The Spunky Intellect: Dr. Barbara Stock Nielsen

I’ll never forget the first time I laid eyes on Barbara Nielsen. It was a civic club meeting in Columbia in early 1990, a statewide election year. Republican Carroll Campbell was Governor, but a Democrat held every other statewide office. There had never been a Republican State Superintendent of Education.  

As Barbara was being introduced, she had already bounded onto the stage. Grasping the lectern like a general in the field, she immediately took over the room. In a few short minutes, Dr. Nielsen diagnosed the problems with education in America and in South Carolina, called for revolutionary changes, and announced that she was not only running for State Superintendent but that she planned to win.  

After she sat down, the room was abuzz. At first, there was disbelief that a Republican actually thought she had a chance to be State Superintendent, especially by defeating a Democrat incumbent. Of all statewide offices, Education would always be Democratic. Right? But that feeling soon dissipated as we took the full measure of what we had just experienced. If anyone could do it, this Barbara Nielsen (or was it Nielson?) could. She was a whirlwind of intellect and energy. We all wanted to be on her team.  

When I found out last night that we had lost Barbara, my mind immediately settled on her many accomplishments. The first four that came to mind were charter schools, the Education Accountability Act, curriculum frameworks, and In$ite.  

Charter schools that were authorized by local school districts, was the first step toward making this bipartisan concept a reality in South Carolina. The Accountability Act mandated testing and an independent education agency called the Education Oversight Committee that would provide a second set of eyes on student achievement. Curriculum frameworks were designed to bring some standardization (but not too much) to what was being taught so that statewide expectations could be set. In$ite was more obscure, but this financial module, developed by Barbara with a major national financial firm, would allow all education dollars to be tracked by type of expenditure. I had forgotten about her involvement with expanding technology, developing a constitutionally sound character education program, and tying parenting/family literacy to student literacy.  

When I spoke with Barbara recently, her intellect and energy seemed little diminished from nearly 35 years ago. It was the same Barbara—upbeat, razor-sharp, and strategic. 

From the day she left office in 1999, Barbara remained a player. She continued to advise and effectively advocate for reformist policies. My last public appearance with Dr. Nielsen was in 2022 when she spoke at a news conference with Governor McMaster and another former State Superintendent, Dr. Mick Zais. Before the two Superintendents stepped into the room to explain the transformative new funding formula proposal that was making its way through the General Assembly, we had a few private moments with the Governor. The photo shows classic Barbara. The three men around her had a pretty good idea of what the news conference needed to accomplish, but I could see in her eyes that she was at another level. Barbara was on message.   

We will miss Barbara Nielsen every day and rest assured we will need to ramp up our energy and gray cells to at least try to fill the vast void she leaves behind.   

Thanks, Barbara! You made a difference in this world called South Carolina, and we are grateful.