James Martin II named chancellor at North Carolina A&T

NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY

James Martin II was named the new chancellor at North Carolina A&T State University, the nation's largest historically Black college by enrollment.

James Martin II, who led science-related initiatives at three public research universities, is North Carolina A&T State University’s chancellor-designate.

Martin, a civil engineer and vice chancellor of STEM innovation and research at the University of Pittsburgh, was named to the position by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. He succeeds Harold Martin, who is retiring after 15 years that included A&T’s growth into the nation’s largest historically Black college by enrollment.

James Martin, who will start on Aug. 15, spent four years as U.S. Steel Dean of Engineering in Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering. His academic experience includes engineering professor, institute director, dean and leader of science initiatives at Clemson University and Virginia Tech.

Martin takes the reins as A&T campaigns to earn recognition as a Research 1, or top-tier research institution by the Carnegie Classification that ranks schools by their levels of research activity. No HBCU has reached that level.

“North Carolina A&T is a recognized national leader in harnessing technology and access to learning to unlock human potential,” Martin said. “That’s one of many reasons why it’s so exciting to have been chosen to lead the university at a moment when America is in particular need of the very things that North Carolina A&T does best. Our students, faculty, staff and alumni are on an incredible ascent, having accomplished so much in recent years. I look forward to joining them on that journey and ensuring that we continue to build on A&T’s exceptional momentum as we set ambitious new sights for the months and years ahead.”

Martin, who was born in Union, S.C., supervises the engineering program at Pittsburgh, which has 37,50 students (2,900 undergraduate) and 200 faculty. He raised research funding by 50 percent, built strategic partnerships with industry and government, and increased diversity, enrollment and graduation rates. At Clemson, he chaired the civil engineering department and was founding executive director of the Risk Engineering and Systems Analytics Institute.

“We were fortunate in this national search to draw a very competitive field of applicants and nominees from across the country. It was gratifying to see a certain standard of quality in leadership throughout the field,” said search advisory committee Chair Hilda Pinnix-Ragland, former chair of the A&T Board of Trustees. “From the beginning, Dr. Martin emerged as a leading candidate in his background, preparation and the vision he articulated for A&T. He will be an outstanding leader for our university.”

Said UNC System President Peter Hans: “James Martin is the right leader to engineer North Carolina A&T’s continuing rise. He believes in what he calls ‘impatient optimism,’ a productive sense of possibility in what can be achieved when people think across disciplines, feel a sense of shared purpose, and commit to an ambitious vision. It’s exactly the kind of mindset that will help affirm the university’s status as one of the nation’s best research institutions and engines of social mobility.”

A scholar in earthquake science and disaster risk engineering, Martin has conducted research around the world in earthquake zones that has led to more rigorous building codes in the United States. He has consulted as an engineering for nearly 100 companies and government agencies around the world.

“Dr. Martin is an exceptional leader with a strong vision for where we can take our university in the coming years,” A&T board of trustees Chair Kimberly Bullock Gatling said. “North Carolina A&T has enjoyed enormous success in recent years, and I have no doubt that Dr. Martin will continue the university’s strong ascent and increase our national presence as a doctoral, research land-grant HBCU.”

Martin’s academic career started as a civil and environmental engineering professor at Virginia Tech, where he led an engineering fellowship program for students from underrepresented communities and launched the school’s Disaster Risk Management Institute. Martin earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., as well as master’s and doctorate degrees in the same discipline from Virginia Tech.
 

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