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This Month in NC State History (May) Timeline

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  1. 5/1884 Watauga Club meets The Watauga Club met for the first time. The club was formed by progressive-minded young men who were investigating way to strengthen all aspects of North Carolina, including creation of an industrial school.
  2. 5/26/1913 Franklin D. Roosevelt gives commencement address Franklin Delano Roosevelt, then assistant Secretary of the Navy, spoke at commencement exercises. He implored young men to "stay East" because the western expansion of the nation meant abandoned farms in the east.
  3. 5/14/1920 Athletic monograms The Athletics Council makes a decision to award sweaters to athletes who receive monograms ("letters") for their athletic accomplishments; the first letter sweaters appear on campus shortly thereafter.
  4. 5/17/1922 Evolution debate Entomology professor Zeno P. Metcalf debates Bible Conference leader William B. Riley on the topic "Resolved: That Evolution is a Demonstrated Fact" in the old Pullen Hall.
  5. 5/11/1923 Frank Thompson Gymnasium named The new gymnasium on campus is named after Frank Thompson (Class of 1910), a former athlete at State College who was killed during service in WWI.
  6. 5/8/1926 Class field trip A professor and six students from the Economic Geology class took a field trip to Carolina Coal Mine, and became trapped in the mine for four hours.
  7. 5/20/1927 Agronomy lab work Students in the Agronomy 135 course (Farm Terracing) spend the day outside doing lab work, including surveying the land in preparation for planning tile drains.
  8. 5/2/1930 Industrial Engineering curriculum established Curriculum in industrial engineering is announced, with the first courses to be offered in the fall of 1930
  9. 5/15/1930 Freshman Cap address In an end-of-the-year address to students, the Dean of Students, Edward L. Cloyd (Class of 1915), says he supports the elimination of the caps, because it makes freshmen easily distinguishable and a target for hazing. He encourages freshmen to continue to work to abolish them.
  10. 5/21/1931 The Order of Thirty and Three The Order of Thirty and Three is founded by members of the sophomore class; there are eleven charter members.
  11. 5/16/1938 Jimmy Dorsey visits Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra performs at a dance sponsored by the Interfraternity Council.
  12. 5/13/1939 Annual Pushball contest Freshman and sophomores battle in the annual Pushball contest, consisting of pushing a ball 6 feet in diameter and weighing 75 pounds into the opponent's goal.
  13. 5/18/1940 First annual Livestock Day State College's new dairy barns are dedicated as part of the college's first annual Livestock Day.
  14. 5/9/1941 Technician presents a special Spring Fashion issue
  15. 5/8/1942 Campus buildings named All dorms, the cafeteria, and other non-classroom buildings on campus are given official names for the first time.
  16. 5/1946 Old Faithful whistle replaced The whistle had indicated class changes and mealtimes, and it was also used to warn students of campus fires.
  17. 5/25/1946 Record-setting baseball crowd State College wins its first Big Four baseball title since 1928 with a 4-3 victory over Duke; the game is witnessed by 4,000 fans, which is the largest crowd to ever view a baseball game in Raleigh.
  18. 5/23/1948 School of Design established The School of Design is established, with the Division of Architecture and Landscape Design incorporated into the curriculum. Henry Kamphoefner from the University of Oklahoma becomes the first dean of the school.
  19. 5/13/1949 Coke bottle problem The Coca-Cola Company threatens to remove their machines from campus if students don't start returning empty bottles to the racks instead of discarding them around campus.
  20. 5/22/1953 Raleigh-Durham TV Fair The first Raleigh-Durham TV Fair concludes at Reynolds Coliseum. Stars appearing at the fair included Homer and Jethro of the Breakfast Club and Mrs. Hank Williams.
  21. 5/29/1953 Student success in the School of Design A popular myth that there is a "high academic mortality rate" for School of Design students is debunked. Of the 629 students enrolled in the School of Design, only 12 received flunking grades, a 2% mortality rate - much less than the rumored rate of 10%.
  22. 5/23/1955 Burlington Nuclear Laboratories dedicated The Burlington Nuclear Laboratories building is dedicated; located within the building is the first non-government-run nuclear reactor.
  23. 5/24/1956 Agronomy Club Banquet Dr. Arthur Kelman, professor of Plant Pathology, receives an award for being voted the most outstanding professor in the School of Agriculture at the first annual Agronomy Club Banquet.
  24. 5/1960 First African-American undergraduate degree conferred Irwin Holmes earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, making him the first African-American undergraduate to receive a degree at NC State.
  25. 5/1960 First African-American female masters' degree recipient Hazel Virginia Clark receives a master's degree in Occupational Information and Guidance, becoming the first African-American woman to receive a master's degree from NC State.
  26. 5/6/1961 Dr. Edgar Eugene Randolph honored The Chemical Engineering department's reading room is dedicated in Riddick Labs in honor of Dr. Edgar Eugene Randolph, who was instrumental in developing the Chemical Engineering curriculum at NC State.
  27. 5/16/1962 Syme Dormitory pronunciation survey Students discover that the correct pronunciation of "Syme" Dormitory, is "sim," and that is named after George Frederick Syme, a civil engineer who served as the first president of the Raleigh Engineers Club. Over half of the students surveyed thought the pronunciation was "sime."
  28. 5/1/1964 Inaugural Windhover released The inaugural issue of The Windhover, NC State's annual literary and art magazine, is released.
  29. 5/5/1966 Everett Case's funeral A funeral is held for long-time Men's Basketball coach Everett Case; his last recruiting class of players serve as pallbearers.
  30. 5/10/1966 Norm Sloan hired Norman Sloan is hired as the new head basketball coach at NC State. Sloan, who was a player on Everett Case's first basketball team at State (1946-1947), leaves the head coach position at the University of Florida to accept a 3-year contract at State that pays $12,000 annually.
  31. 5/5/1970 First female Student Body President Cathy Sterling is elected Student Body President, becoming the first woman to hold a major campus student elective post. During her presidency, Sterling led the student body in a retreat to protest the invasion of Cambodia. Her report, "Due to Circumstances Beyond Our Control," resulted in a greater student role in the spending of student fees. Sterling says of her decision to run for student body president, "A few weeks before the election, a few friends asked me to run for president, and I just did it. I don't know why I did it, but I just did." -- Raleigh Times, Friday, February 1, 1985, p. 1B.
  32. 5/7/1970 Vietnam and Kent State protest NC State students hold a convocation on the Brickyard in the aftermath of U.S. expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia, and the death of four Kent State University students in Ohio. The following day, nearly 6,000 students from NC State and other colleges protest by marching on the State Capitol.
  33. 5/4/1983 NCSU Libraries join the ARL The NCSU Libraries become a member of the prestigious Association of Research Libraries (ARL).
  34. 5/29/1985 Windsurfing class offered The Union Activities Board begins offering a class on windsurfing.
  35. 5/2/1986 Strolling Professor statue dedicated The "Strolling Professor," a bronze statue in Gardner Arboretum that depicts chemistry professor William R. Johnson, was dedicated
  36. 5/6/2008 President Barak Obama visit Presidential candidate Barak Obama appeared before a crowd at Reynolds Coliseum shortly after defeating rivals in the Democratic presidential primaries.
  37. 5/2010 First woman appointed full professor in College of Textiles Cynthia Istook became the first woman appointed full professor in the College of Textiles.