Tom West is Vice President for Governmental Relations and General Counsel of North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU), the state office of the 36 private, nonprofit colleges and universities in North Carolina. He works closely with the State of North Carolina and the federal government, and with the North Carolina public K-12 and higher education sectors to address education and related public policy issues.

Tom attended Governor’s School in 1971 in Choral Music and graduated from Broughton High School in Raleigh in 1972.  Tom received his undergraduate degree from UNC-Chapel Hill, his law degree from Duke University, and he has been licensed to practice law in North Carolina for 45 years.  From 1986 to 1997 Tom served as a North Carolina Administrative Law Judge. Tom has served as Chair of the N.C. Bar Association Administrative Law Section, and he has served on the Advisory Board for Duke Gardens, as well as the Pfeiffer University Board of Trustees. From 2001 to 2018, Tom served on the N.C. Courts Commission, the longest service of any member.

Tom and his wife have two daughters, one of whom is a graduate of Elon University, and the other a graduate of Meredith College.