It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Paula Schubert, a longtime UNC-Chapel Hill employee, former President of the State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC), and tireless advocate for public employees throughout North Carolina.
Paula passed away on August 14, 2026.
For decades, Paula devoted herself to ensuring that employees had a voice—not only in their workplaces, but also in the decisions made by University leaders, legislators, and other policymakers that affected their lives and livelihoods. Her legacy can be seen today in organizations and institutions that continue to represent thousands of employees at UNC-Chapel Hill and throughout North Carolina.
Helping Give UNC-Chapel Hill Employees a Voice
One of Paula’s most enduring accomplishments was her pivotal role in the creation of the UNC-Chapel Hill Employee Forum.
In the early 1990s, while serving as the sole staff-level member of the University’s ad hoc Women’s Concerns Coalition, Paula proposed to Chancellor Paul Hardin the idea of creating an organization through which University employees could independently express their concerns and have a meaningful voice in University affairs.
Chancellor Hardin embraced the concept and appointed a committee to develop the structure and bylaws for what would become the UNC-Chapel Hill Employee Forum. Paula served on that founding committee and helped lay the groundwork for an organization that continues more than three decades later to represent the interests and concerns of Carolina employees.
The Employee Forum formally recognized Paula’s extraordinary contribution in 2012. In a resolution adopted unanimously, the Forum acknowledged the pivotal role she played in its creation and named her an Honorary Lifetime Delegate.
It was a particularly fitting honor. Although Paula helped create the Employee Forum, she had never served as an elected Forum delegate. Her designation as an Honorary Lifetime Delegate ensured that the organization she helped bring into existence would permanently recognize her contribution.
Today, every employee who finds a voice through the Employee Forum is part of the legacy Paula helped establish.
Leadership in SEANC
Paula carried that same commitment to employee advocacy beyond Chapel Hill through her many years of service to the State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC).
She served at numerous levels of the association and ultimately became President of SEANC in 1999, serving during the 1999–2000 term.
As president, Paula represented state employees across North Carolina during a consequential period for employee compensation, health care, retirement security and workplace rights. Her leadership came at a time when SEANC was strengthening both its legislative advocacy and its ability to organize state employees around issues affecting their families and their futures.
But Paula’s commitment to SEANC was never defined by a single office or a single year.
Long after completing her term as president, she remained actively engaged in the association and continued giving her time, experience and institutional knowledge to the cause of state employees and retirees.
Building the Political Voice of State Employees Through EMPAC
Paula also understood that meaningful employee advocacy required employees to have a voice in the political process.
She became deeply involved with EMPAC, the Employees Political Action Committee of SEANC, which works to ensure that state employees and retirees have an effective voice in North Carolina government and supports candidates who understand the issues important to public employees, regardless of political party.
Through EMPAC, Paula helped advance a philosophy that state employees should be active participants in the governmental decisions affecting their pay, health care, retirement benefits, workplace rights and ability to provide quality public services.
Her involvement with EMPAC continued for many years and included leadership and parliamentary responsibilities. Even decades after her term as SEANC president, Paula continued serving the organization, including as Parliamentarian of the EMPAC Statewide Board.
That longevity speaks volumes about Paula. For her, service was not about obtaining a title. It was about doing the work, developing future leaders, preserving the integrity of the organizations she cared about, and making certain that employees continued to have a seat at the table.
A Legacy That Continues
There is a remarkable consistency to Paula’s life’s work.
At UNC-Chapel Hill, she helped create an organization that gave employees a stronger voice within the University.
Through SEANC, she helped represent and advocate for public employees across North Carolina.
Through EMPAC, she worked to ensure that those employees also had a voice in the political process and in the decisions made in Raleigh that directly affected their lives.
These were not separate endeavors. They reflected a deeply held conviction that ran throughout Paula’s life: employees deserve to be heard, respected and represented.
The organizations Paula helped build and strengthen continue that work today.
Thousands of Carolina employees have been represented through the Employee Forum she helped establish. Generations of state employees and retirees have benefited from the advocacy of SEANC. And through EMPAC, state employees continue to make their voices heard in North Carolina’s political process.
That is an extraordinary legacy of public service.
Paula demonstrated what one committed person can accomplish by speaking up, becoming involved and encouraging others to do the same. She helped create opportunities for employees who came after her to have voices that might otherwise have gone unheard.
We extend our deepest sympathies to Paula’s family, friends, colleagues, and the many members of the UNC-Chapel Hill, SEANC and EMPAC communities who had the privilege of knowing and working with her.
As we mourn her passing, we also celebrate a life of remarkable service.
Paula Schubert gave employees a voice. The best way we can honor her legacy is to continue using it.
May her memory and her example continue to inspire all who work on behalf of public employees.