NC A&T’s chancellor-elect promises to exceed expectations

A civil engineer from a rural Southern town has been tapped to lead the nation’s largest historically black college and university (HBCU). James R. Martin II has been named the thirteenth president of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (A&T) in Greensboro, North Carolina.

System Council of the University of North Carolina (UNC) Committee of Governors on Personnel. announced it June 21 at a news conference, noting that Martin is a “distinguished academic, administrator and civil engineer” who has worked at three major public research institutions: Clemson University, Virginia Tech and the University of Pittsburgh, where he’s currently vice chancellor for Innovation and STEM research.

“I’m excited to be here. My goal is definitely to exceed the expectations I set for myself,” Martin said throughout the press conference.

Over there seems to be disturbingnonetheless, of the “three members of the search committee,” according to the chancellor-elect will lead the nation’s largest HBCU, “even though he has never attended, taught at, or directed an HBCU.”

According to , “There were candidates who had that experience, the HBCU culture, who were products of HBCUs,” said one search committee member. “I wouldn’t say it’s disqualifying if it wasn’t. But we have had a lot of success with leaders who come from A&T and who come from the HBCU world and culture.”

Meanwhile, Search Advisory Committee Chair Hilda Pinnix-Ragland, who served as Chair of the A&T Board of Directors, stated: “From the beginning, Dr. Martin emerged as the leading candidate because of his experience, preparation and the vision he articulated for A&T. He will be an outstanding leader for our university.”

Martin earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from The Citadel and a master’s and Ph.D. in civil engineering are from Virginia Tech. As dean at Pittsburgh, Martin oversaw an engineering program that enrolled 2,900 students, 850 graduate students and 200 faculty members, according to his profile. There, he raised research funding by 50%, built strategic partnerships with industry and government, and increased diversity, enrollment and graduation rates. He previously headed the civil engineering department at Clemson and was the founder and executive director of the Risk Engineering and Systems Analytics (RESA) Institute at Clemson.

Martin, a specialist in disaster and earthquake risk engineering, conducted global research in earthquake zones that led to stronger constructing codes within the United States. He has provided international engineering consulting to nearly 100 firms and government agencies.

He will now lead A&T, a land-grant doctoral college with a national status in STEM education with greater than 13,500 students and greater than 70,000 graduates.

According to statement from the UNC System, “Martin’s numerous national, state and university awards for research, teaching, scholarship and service include the Norman Medal of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the highest honor for published work in his field. In 2015, he was also inducted into the Virginia Civil Engineering Technology Alumni Academy.”

Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. – has no reference to James Martin II – announced in September 2023 to retire at the top of the present academic 12 months, leaving after 15 years because the longest-serving chancellor of the UNC System. A nationwide search then began, with UNC System President Peter Hans announcing the members of the A&T Search Advisory Committee on October 4. A series of listening sessions with internal and external participants that took place in January complemented a web based public input survey that also began in October.

According to the university, the A&T Board of Trustees beneficial three unranked candidates to Hans, who nominated one candidate on the June 21 Board of Governors meeting.

During the press conference, James Martin II talked about his childhood growing up near Union, a small rural town in South Carolina, riding a tractor to see it pull from Upstate South Carolina to North Carolina; and proverbially how the upper education pathway was transformative.

“I am motivated by the fact that higher education serves as a platform for social advancement,” Martin said during a news conference. “Obtaining an engineering degree allowed me to change not only my life, but in addition the lifetime of my entire family and surrounding areas; people I actually have contact with. If you actually need to change lives, in the event you want to change households, in the event you want to change communities, change your relationship with science.

Martin’s appointment as chancellor will begin on August 15.