Academics

This student organization frequently engaged in formal debates with the Leazar Literary Society. It remained active until the early 1930s.

Department of Horticulture, Arboriculture, and Botany established as one of the five original academic divisions of the North Carolina College of Agricultue and Mechanic Arts

Courses in mathematics offered when the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts opens

Courses in English are offered when the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts opens

The North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (A&M) taught two curricula: agriculture and mechanics. The mechanics curriculum included fundamentals of civil and mechanical engineering.

Courses in chemistry taught when the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts opens

Courses in botany are offered when the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts opens

Courses in agronomy offered when the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts opens

Courses in history offered when the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts opens

The first classes are held at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (the original name of NC State University). Fifty-two students, at the minimum age of 14, attend. Tuition was $20 a session. Students could select from two basic curricula: agriculture and mechanics.

This student organization frequently engaged in formal debates with the Pullen Literary Society. It remained active until the early 1930s.

The Agricultural Experiment Station is transferred from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture to the North Carolina College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts.

Entomology curriculum taught within the Department of Horticulture, Arboriculture, and Botany.

The Second Morrill Act becomes law, requiring states to provide technical education for African Americans. No federal money would be disbursed to any college that made distinctions between students on the basis of race. States could comply, however, by providing separate colleges for blacks and whites.

Courses with content in zoology first offered

Microbiology courses become a part of the curricula in the Zoology and Botany departments.

A curriculum of applied science was added to the academic program.

Nineteen students receive degrees during the first commencement ceremony held at A&M College.

Military science and tactics is first taught at NC State. Students (they are all male at this time) are designated cadets and required to attend drill.

Poultry Division added to the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station

Mechanics Course curricula divided; result was the creation of the Department of Civil Engineering and Mathematics

George Franks Ivey taught the first courses in textiles in the fall of 1899. Courses specialized in cotton manufacturing and milling, designing twills, and mill engineering, and were taught in Holladay Hall.

The Biological Division is created, with coursework devoted entirely to plant pathology.

Margaret Burke becomes the first female student to take a course at A&M (she enrolled in a physics course).

Eula Louisa Dixon takes a course in dairying, becoming the second female student at A&M.

With the beginning of a fall term, a small number of students became interested in Biology, and desiring to further promote their interests developed the Biological Club.

Botany curriculum is taught as a component of the Botanical Instruction program.

Adeline Stevens, the wife of Frank Lincoln Stevens, becomes the first female faculty member, as an instructor in biology during the 1902-1903 academic year.

Entomology first listed as a separate subject in the course catalog, with classes fulfilling part of the four-year degree in Agriculture

Women's enrollment continued to increase during the 1903-1904 academic year. Evelyn Byrd Lawrence of Raleigh took a course in architecture, Ivey Roberts of Raleigh took a course in drawing, and Frances Claire Stainback took courses in chemistry and English. This was also the first year that women were listed as summer school students, and more than 200 women attended.

Department of Horticulture, Arboriculture, and Botany moved to Patterson Hall (originally, "Agricultural Hall")

Winston Hall opens, housing civil, chemical, and electrical engineering courses. It was named for second college president George Tayloe Winston.

The Department of Chemistry moves from Holladay Hall to Winston Hall.

Botanical Instruction and Botany programs are separated, botany classes are taught as a part of the Agriculture curriculum.

Poultry classes became part of the curriculum in the Department of Animal Industry.

The Smith-Lever Act provided for federal, state, and county cooperation in creating a system to expand demonstration and extension work for men and women. The law authorized land-grant colleges to sign memoranda of understanding with the United States Department of Agriculture to begin such work. NC State then created a new Department of Extension, which became the Agricultural Extension Service.

The total number of degrees awarded by A&M College reaches 1,000.

Department of Electrical Engineering established when the Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering separates into two programs

Agricultural engineering courses offered as a degree program (B.S. in Agriculture) within the Department of Agronomy

Plant pathology curriculum taught within the Department of Botany

A bachelor's degree in Architectural Engineering is first offered through the School of Engineering

The State College Civil Engineering Society is recognized by and inducted into the North Carolina Society of Civil Engineers

Lucille Thomson of Wilmington becomes the first woman to enroll as a full-time student, majoring in electrical engineering.

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.

State College is awarded a chapter of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

Poultry Department becomes one of six original departments in the School of Agriculture.

A four-year program in Agricultural Administration is created within the department of Business Administration.

In 1923, NC State hired George Zook of the United States Bureau of Education to survey the college and make recommendations on how it could best be restructured. Zook recommended creation of schools focusing on the following broad disciplines: engineering, agriculture, general science, and social science and business administration. He also reported that the library was inadequate for the needs of the growing institution and suggested that library services be centralized.

Books in departmental libraries begin to be cataloged as part of a central library system.

A.F. Greaves-Walker organized and served as head of the new department of Ceramic Engineering, the first department of its kind in the American South. Greaves-Walker, a native of the U.K., spent 20 years working in industry as a mining and ceramic engineer and administrator. According to a 1927 Technician article, the department was "established primarily to promote the ceramic industries of North Carolina and to thus provide plants in which its graduates may find employment."

The Division of Agronomy becomes the Department of Agronomy.

The Board of Trustees removed the Textile Department from the School of Engineering and created a separate School of Textiles. Becoming a separate school enabled Textiles to have its own dean and to compete on an equal basis with the other schools within the college for money, faculty positions, equipment, and space. Thomas Nelson became the first dean, serving until 1943.

Department of History and Sociology formed when rural sociology curriculum was separated from the program. A separate Department of Rural Sociology was also created.

An article in the Technician newspaper states that the department was established "primarily to train 'miners' for the particular mining problems of the state and the south," who will "be particularly well trained for geological survey work and the development departments of southern railroads." A.F. Greaves-Walker is head of department.

The Department of Modern Languages is renamed the Department of Modern Languages and Translation Services

The original D.H. Hill Library (in what later became Brooks Hall) was designed by Hobart Brown Upjohn and named for Daniel Harvey Hill, Jr., the first faculty member to oversee the library.

The first Ph.D. is conferred; Jesse Mowry receives the degree in the field of Rural Sociology.

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.

Agricultural Administration curriculum becomes a full department, and is named the Department of Agricultural Economics.

Curriculum in landscape architecture established as a component of courses in the Department of Horticulture.

Following the dissolution of the department of Mining Engineering, a separate department of Geology is established. Jasper L. Stuckey is head of the department.

Department of Mining Engineering is dissolved, and courses become distributed between Ceramic Engineering and Geology departments.

The Athletics Committee decides students must maintain a passing grade in 60% of their classes to play in collegiate athletic events.

Jane S. McKimmon becomes the first female inducted into NC State's chapter of Phi Kappa Phi.

Dr. B.W. Wells gives a lecture on plant evolution as part of the Phi Kappa Phi lecture series.

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.

The first degrees are conferred to women at NC State. Recipients are Jane McKimmon, B.S. in business administration; Charlotte Nelson, B.S. in education; and Mary Elizabeth Yarbrough, M.S. in chemistry. Yarbrough was the first female graduate to have completed all coursework while at NC State, and she went on to become the first woman to earn a master's degree at NC State.

Lillian P. Wallace becomes the first woman to earn a masters degree in Education. She went on to publish several historical works on politics in Europe. Virginia F. Harris becomes the first woman to earn a masters degree in Rural Sociology.

Professor W. N. Hicks taught the first courses in religion. Although the courses were listed in the 1927-1928 college catalog, they were not taught before Hicks became an assistant professor in 1928.

Twenty-one female students enroll at State College for the 1928-29 academic year, twice as many as the previous year.

Genetics curriculum taught as a component of coursework in Agronomy, Zoology, and Plant Pathology departments.

The result of this merger was the creation of the Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology Department.

Ada Curtis Spencer becomes the first female to enroll as a freshman and complete a four-year degree from NC State. She majored in social science.

Curriculum in industrial engineering is announced, with the first courses to be offered in the fall of 1930

The Department of Industrial Engineering is established and located in Daniels Hall.

The Order of Thirty and Three is founded by members of the sophomore class; there are eleven charter members.

Lillian Tyler Jones was the first female to earn a graduate degree from the School of Textiles. Here thesis was a study of "the effect of some wet and dry cleaning and stripping and spotting reagents on the relative tensile strength of some acetate and viscose yarns."

Elizabeth Lee Lawrence becomes the first woman to earn a B.S. degree in Landscape Architecture.

Katherine W. Sams becomes the first woman to earn an M.S. degree in Economics.

Maud K. Schaub becomes the first woman to earn an M.S. degree in Biology.

The senior class passes a resolution requesting that faculty who participate in commencement exercises wear caps and gowns.

A faculty vote officially abolishes the honor system at State College; teachers will now have to remain in the classroom during all quizzes and exams.

The faculty deny a proposal to exempt senior class from all examinations.

The Department of Geology is renamed the Department of Geological Engineering.

The process of consolidating State College's and UNC-Chapel Hill's engineering programs into one program at State College begins.

Civil Engineering curriculum receives accreditation from the Engineers' Council for Professional Development.

The Electrical Engineering Department is receives accreditation the Engineer's Council for Professional Development.

The Department of Chemistry is placed under the administration of the School of Agriculture.

Department of Chemistry is renamed the Department of Agriculture and Biological Chemistry.

The Basic Division is established as an academic service division, and made up of the non-degree-granting departments offering fundamental courses to first- and second-year students.

Department of History and Sociology divided into two departments: Department of History and Department of Sociology.

Depicted here is part of the 1937 graduating class at the Textile School of NC State College. Dean Thomas Nelson is in the front row, seventh from the left. The 1937 class was the largest the Textile School had up to that time.

The Consolidated University (NC State, UNC, and Woman's College) consolidates all engineering programs at NC State. Engineering faculty and $40,000 worth of equipment are transferred from UNC to NC State.

Female chemist J.C. Richmond of State College is awarded a grant to study the Vitamin C content in goat's milk and the presence of nicotinic acid in cow's milk.

The department of Ethics is renamed the Department of Ethics and Religion.

The Student Welfare Committee approves a plan that allows juniors and seniors with a B cumulative grade point average to have ten unexcused absences per term and twenty per year, but no more than sixty during their four-year academic careers.

Margaret Kramer and Martha S. Richard become the first women to receive M.S. degrees in agricultural chemistry.

Myrtha M. Wilson becomes the first woman to earn an M.S. degree in animal ecology.

Ethel C. Sheridan becomes the first woman to earn an M.S. in Occupational Information and Guidance.

Work done in food science is scattered throughout several departments, namely Animal Industry, Horticulture, and Poultry Science.

Department of Agriculture and Biological Chemistry relocates from Winston Hall to Withers Hall.

The Department of Architectural Engineering is renamed the Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering.

The Department of Industrial Engineering moves from Daniels Hall to the 1911 Building.

Gertrude Cox is hired as Professor of Statistics and head of the Department of Experimental Statistics, becoming the first woman at State College to occupy either rank.

One of the most significant contributions to the war effort is the Diesel Program, developed by the Mechanical Engineering Department. The program trains more than 1,500 members of the Navy.

The Architecture Library opened as the first branch library, with Grace Sims Dalton as the first librarian. This was part of Library Director Harlan Brown’s goal to eliminate autonomous departmental libraries in favor of centrally controlled branch libraries (The Architecture Library was renamed the Harrye B. Lyons Design Library in 1968).

Margery Belle Garriss becomes the first woman to graduate in Architectural Engineering.

Division of Landscape Architecture established within the Department of Horticulture.

The faculty approve a plan to hold fall engineering classes in the summer as part of a nationwide war effort to accelerate graduation at technical schools for the benefit of the war effort.

Increased enrollment by women needed in engineering courses; urgent appeals are made as the male students leave to fight in the war.

Plans are announced for up to 2,000 military trainees to enroll at State College to take specialized defense classes through the United States War Department; the college will operate as two separate units: one for the military and one civilians.

Eighteen young women win a fellowship of $1,425 from Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, which will employ them as engineering aides after they complete a 48-week course offered by State College.

The Textiles Library is established, with Rachel Penn Lane as the first librarian. The Textiles Library was originally located in the main library, but relocated to Nelson Hall the following year (1945). The library was renamed the Burlington Textiles Library in 1954, when Burlington Industries funded its expansion.

The Department of Modern Languages and Translation Services is renamed the Department of Modern Languages.

A Plant Pathology section is created within the School of Agriculture, and a new Department of Botany and Plant Pathology is also created.

The Minerals Research Laboratory opens in Asheville, North Carolina. The Laboratory was initially created as a collaboration between the Tennessee Valley Authority, who provided equipment and funds, and the Division of Mineral Resources of the North Carolina Department of Conservation and Development, who provided the building. State Geologist and NC State professor Jasper L. Stuckey was involved in securing the initial contract for the Laboratory and served as its founding Director.

Jeanne Freeman becomes the first person to earn an M.S. degree in Experimental Statistics.

After receiving a loan of $2,000,000 worth of diesel engines from the U.S. Navy, the College of Engineering is able to launch a graduate program in Diesel Engineering.

More than 75 trailers (forming what was known as the "City of Trailers" or "Trailwood") were constructed so that married WWII veterans and their families could attend NC State on the GI Bill. In 1949, Trailwood was relocated, and Williams Hall was built in its place.

Department of Industrial and Rural Recreation established in the School of Education.

The Department of Agricultural Engineering moves to Clark Hall.

Lois Madden became the first woman to graduate with a degree in Chemical Engineering.

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 (he serves in the position until 1973).

The Department of Ethics and Religion is renamed the Department of Philosophy and Religion.

More than 1,000 students graduate from State College for the first time.

Twenty-two women are listed on the faculty, most at the instructor or laboratory technician level. Departments with more than one female member include English (six), Statistics (three), Textiles (three), and Modern Languages (two). Women are also on the faculty in Architecture, Agricultural Economics, Mathematics, Physics, Social Studies, Chemistry, Engineering, Research, and Agronomy.

The Division of Biological Sciences is established; the Department of Zoology and Entomology is placed within.

Division of Forestry becomes the School of Forestry.

The Department of Chemical Engineering receives full accreditation from the Engineer's Council for Professional Development.

Department of Entomology and Zoology separated into two programs; Department of Zoology, Department of Entomology created

Harold Lampe, Dean of the School of Engineering, approves the building of a nuclear reactor on campus and the establishment of a collegiate nuclear engineering program, both firsts in the nation.

Division of Biological Sciences created; plant pathology comprises the largest of five units.

The Department of Industrial Engineering moves from the 1911 Building to Riddick Laboratories.

The Department of Genetics is established and located in Winston Hall. (for historical records, see online collection guide)

The Consolidated University of North Carolina decides that African American students are eligible for admission into graduate programs.

The Department of Chemical Engineering moves from Winston Hall to Riddick Laboratories.

The Department of Landscape Architecture receives accreditation from the American Society of Landscape Architects, becoming the second to do so in the South, and one of only ten accredited schools in the U.S.

Over 200 citizens gather for a ceremony at the newly-opened Riddick Laboratory. The lab building, constructed for $1,300,000, is dedicated to Dr. Wallace Carl Riddick, NC State's first Dean of Engineering, and the university's fourth president.

A velvet carpet loom is installed on campus for use by the School of Textiles.

The School of Forestry moves from Ricks Hall to Kilgore Hall.

The Department of Genetics moves to Gardner Hall.

The Department of Agronomy moves to Williams Hall.

The Department of Zoology moves to Gardner Hall.

The non-degree-granting School of General Studies is established (now the degree-granting College of Humanities and Social Sciences). It replaces the Basic Division.

State College celebrates the opening of Scott Hall, the new poultry science building, named for Robert Walter Scott. Construction of Scott Hall cost the college $380,110.97.

State College admits two African-American graduate students into the School of Engineering: Robert Clemons and Hardy Liston. Clemons became the college's first black graduate; Liston later withdrew and didn't complete his degree.

The Board of Trustees agrees to transition the academic calendar from a quarter system to a semester system, by a vote of 46-28. NC State will switch over in the fall semester of 1953.

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%.

The R-1 reactor was the first non-government-run nuclear reactor in the world and the first designed, built, and operated by an academic institution. Design and construction had begun in 1950. It was the first of four reactors operated at NC State. More information on the nuclear reactor program can be found on the departmental website.

The Extension Division of NC State College begins offering a night class in Elementary Russian.

The new building housing the School of Forestry and the Department of Horticulture was formally dedicated as Kilgore Hall, named in honor of the late Dr. Benjamin Wesley Kilgore, former Dean of Agriculture, Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, and the first head of North Carolina's Agricultural Extension Service.

Hervasio Carvalho of Brazil, a graduate student in the School of Engineering at NC State, becomes the first person in the world to complete a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering.

The Peru Project is established, a cooperative effort between NC State, the Foreign Operations Administration (U.S. Agency for International Development), and the government of Peru to develop programs in agricultural and textile research, extension, and education.

In Frazier v. the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina, the court determines that undergraduate colleges and universities should be open to African Americans.

William Edward Shinn, head of the Knitting Department, developed knitted tubes using synthetic fibers to serve as artificial aortas. The knitted aortas were more flexible than the woven tubes previously used. Dean Campbell had an artificial aorta implanted in 1970 after suffering an aneurysm. He lived to 1978 with the help of the synthetic aorta that resulted from research he had supported.

The Division of Biological Sciences is dissolved, and all subjects within become individual departments. Out of this, the Department of Entomology is established. More historical information about this department exists on their website.

The Burlington Nuclear Laboratories building is dedicated; located within the building is the first non-government-run nuclear reactor.

The Department of Horticulture moved to Kilgore Hall.

The Department of Agronomy is divided into the Department of Field Crops and the Department of Soils.

Patricia Anne Sarvella become the first woman to receive a Ph.D. degree at State College (from the Department of Genetics).

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.

Dr. William Barclay instructs a class as part of the Atoms for Peace Program.

Students working on spinner rocket project with a Goodyear Electronic Differential analyzer, a type of electronic analog computer, August 1956.

The first four African-American undergraduates enrolled at North Carolina State College: Ed Carson, Manuel Crockett, Irwin Holmes, and Walter Holmes.

Robert Clemons received a professional degree in Electrical Engineering (PREE), becoming the first African-American to graduate from NC State.

The Department of Agricultural Engineering moves to Weaver Labs.

A tobacco bulk curing unit is developed by the Department of Agricultural Engineering.

The Research Triangle Institute at Research Triangle Park is established by NC State, Duke University, and UNC-Chapel Hill.

Department of Botany and Bacteriology created, replacing the Division of Biological Sciences.

The first African-American female academic staff member, Mrs. Justina Williams, is hired to work in the Department of Genetics' Drosophila research lab. Many African-Americans had worked at State prior to Williams’s appointment, however they primarily worked in custodial or food service positions.

The Department of Industrial and Rural Recreation is renamed the Department of Recreation and Park Administration.

The Department of Yarn Manufacturing, the Department of Knitting, and the Department of Fabric Development merge to form the Department of Textile Technology.

Department of Forest Management established, curriculum in the School of Forestry thus divided into departments for the first time

The Agricultural Policy Institute is established, and is one of only two such organizations in the United States.

The Department of Agriculture and Biological Chemistry is renamed the Department of Chemistry.

The Department of Chemistry is transferred from the School of Agriculture to the School of Physical Science and Applied Mathematics.

The Department of Physics moves from the School of Engineering to become a founding department in the new School of Physical Science and Applied Mathematics.

Irwin Holmes earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, making him the first African-American undergraduate to receive a degree at NC State. Further documentation of Irwin Holmes's life exists at DigitalNC.

Additional historical information exists on the department's website.

More information on the history of the nuclear engineering program can be found on the departmental website.

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.

The Department of Animal Industry is renamed the Department of Animal Science.

The Institute of Biological Sciences is created; the Department of Botany and Bacteriology becomes one of the five divisions within.

The Poultry Department is renamed the Department of Poultry Science.

The Department of Soils is renamed the Department of Soil Science.

The Department of Horticulture was renamed the Department of Horticultural Science. More historical information exists on the department's website.

The Department of Field Crops is renamed the Department of Crop Science.

Twenty-three years after Gertrude Cox's appointment, Eloise Cofer, Extension Professor of Food Science and Assistant Director of the Agricultural Extension Service becomes the second woman to be appointed as a full professor. In 1980, Cofer was named Home Economist of the Year by the N.C. Home Economics Association.

The Speaker Ban Bill passes through the NC House, prohibiting anyone with "known Communist ties" from speaking on any state-supported campus, including NC State.

All Chemistry lab students must now wear protective eyewear, as voted on by the Chemistry Department, regardless of whether that student otherwise wears glasses.

The new head of the Physics Department, Dr. Dudley Williams, is glad to have joined NC State. He warns his students that sleeping in class merits a piece of chalk thrown directly at them.

A computer created by professors from NC State and built at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at a cost of $50,000 has arrived on campus. The computer, named Lincy, greeted professors with the message, "I want to be here," and will be used in experiments to measure the distance between heart beats, blood pressure, and brain waves.

Two female engineering students from NC State attend a conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that discusses the opportunities and difficulties facing women in the fields of science and engineering.

The Faculty Senate votes to abolish compulsory ROTC. Prior to this date, all male students were required to take military training.

John T. Bogdan developed a lint-free washcloth that was used on the Gemini and Apollo space flights.

The Water Resources Research Institute, a joint federal-state program for the UNC System, is established at NC State.

The Department of Botany and Bacteriology is divided; Bacteriology program becomes the Department of Microbiology.

The Triangle Universities Computation Center is established by NC State, Duke University, and UNC-Chapel Hill in Research Triangle Park. It is one of the world's largest university computing centers.

Ad hoc Committee on Computer Science formed to include a faculty member each from the departments of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Economics, Industrial Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Statistics, and the director of the Computer Center, Paul E. Lewis

Dorothy Williams becomes the first African-American instructor with faculty ranking, teaching in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

Extension programs, including 4-H and Home Economics, began to integrate.

The Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology merges with the Department of Economics, keeping the latter name.

The Department of History and Political Science is divided into two departments - the Department of History and Department of Politics.

NC State received its first NSF grant to create a science development plan in order to strengthen faculties in the biosciences; support materials, mechanics and electrotechnics in engineering; and support the social sciences.

Norma Wright Garcia becomes the first African-American female to receive an undergraduate degree, earning a BA in history.

Botany and Bacteriology programs separated; Department of Botany and Department of Microbiology formed.

Department of Rural Sociology merges with the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, retaining the latter name.

The Technical Information Center opens in the D. H. Hill Library, as a joint project between the library and the Industrial Extension Service.

The Center for Occupational Education is established, becoming one of just two such centers nationwide.

Doris King becomes the third woman to serve as a full professor, teaching courses in history and education.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is renamed the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Paul E. Lewis and John W. Cell of the Department of Mathematics write a report recommending the reconstitution of the Computing Center into the Department of Computer Science within the School of Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics.

Stanley G. Stephens becomes the first faculty member elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

The Geological Engineering program separates from the Department of Mineral Industries and the College of Engineering. It is renamed the Department of Geosciences in the newly-formed School of Physical Science and Applied Mathematics, and later becomes part of the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences in 1980.

The fourth and fifth female full professors are appointed. Hedwig Hirschmann Triantaphyllou became a full professor of Plant Pathology and Emily Quinn Pugh became a full professor of Adult Education.

Stephen Benton Latimer receives a PhD in Animal Science, becoming the first African-American to earn a doctoral degree from NC State.

The Department of Recreation and Park Administration is transferred from the School of Education to the School of Forest Resources

The Cooperating Raleigh Colleges program is established by the libraries of NC State, Meredith College, Shaw University, Peace College, St. Mary's College, and St. Augustine College. The program allows direct borrowing of library resources among the six campuses.

William E. Splinter, on the faculty of the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, with tobacco harvesting equipment that he helped develop. Throughout the history of North Carolina State University, research and development conducted by its faculty and students have assisted North Carolina farmers.

The Department of Wood Science and Technology is renamed the Department of Wood and Paper Science.

The School of Forestry is renamed the School of Forest Resources.

The Department of Forest Management is renamed the Department of Forestry.

The Department of Computer Science moves to Harrelson Hall.

Students from NC State compete in the General Electric Academic College Bowl.

The Apollo VIII spacecraft launches, becoming the first human spaceflight mission to escape Earth's gravitational field; many NC State alumni and faculty play a role in both the development and launch of the spacecraft.

In fall 1969, NC State began offering Black Studies courses; these courses included black American literature, the Afro-American in America, black Americans in American politics, and black ideology. Previously, many students were going to Shaw University and St. Augustine’s College to take these classes.

The library received the Sanford Richard Winston Music Collection, consisting of classical music scores, opera librettos, guides, biographies of composers, books on music criticism and history, and musical recordings.

Twenty-six NC State alumni, all employees of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), play a key role in the voyage of the Apollo 11 space mission, which is successful in placing the first men on the moon.

The Department of Mineral Industries is renamed the Department of Materials Engineering. Emphasis of the program changes from the exploitation of raw materials to discovering and applying fundamental relationships that exist between the hyperfine structures of solids and their engineering properties. William W. Austin is head of department.

The School of Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics (PSAM) is renamed the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (PAMS).

The Department of Chemistry moves from Withers Hall to Dabney Hall.

The Health, Education and Welfare Department (HEW) informed the University of North Carolina schools that its institutions, including NC State, failed to comply with the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The School of Forest Resources moves from Kilgore Hall to Biltmore Hall.

The Department of Computer Science moves to Dabney Hall.

James H. Goodnight receives an appointment as an assistant statistician in the new Department of Statistics. Over the next several years, Goodnight, a statistics student named John Sall, and others would lay the groundwork for what would become SAS. Today, SAS is one of the largest software providers in the world.

A masters' program in Recreation and Park Administration is created.

The Department of Adult Education is renamed the Department of Adult and Community College Education.

The Department of Experimental Statistics is renamed the Department of Statistics.

The School of Forest Resources Library opened in Biltmore Hall. It later became the Natural Resources Library.

The Department of Wood and Paper Science moves to Biltmore Hall.

Samiha Mourad becomes the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering.

Jane Carol Pickard becomes the first female valedictorian.

A Ph.D. program in Math and Science Education is approved.

Augustus M. Witherspoon becomes the second African American to earn a Ph.D. (in Botany) from NC State, and the first African American to receive a doctoral degree and go on to join the faculty.

The International Potato Center is established in Peru by NC State and the Peruvian government, in an effort to increase the world's supply of white potatoes.

The UNC System is created, with NC State as one of the constituent campuses. A Board of Governors is established at the system level, but a new Board of Trustees is instituted at NC State to oversee matters specific to the university.

William Maxwell becomes an assistant dean in the School of Education, making him NC State's first African-American academic administrator.

NC State publishes "In a Black Perspective." This pamphlet tallies the university's black community at nine professors and 222 students (out of a total 13,809), and lists courses focusing on black history and culture: two in Political Science and one on race relations in Sociology.

Interior of D. H. Hill Library, showing the documents card catalog. A few years after this photo was taken, in 1975, the NCSU Libraries commenced “computerized” cataloging of the book collection, which led to the development of the online catalog.

The Department of Textile Technology is renamed the Department of Textile Materials and Management.

The Department of Product Design is renamed the Department of Product/Visual Design.

Nannette Smith Henderson becomes the first African-American woman to be awarded a Ph.D. at NC State, with a degree in Plant Pathology.

Dr. Mary Wheeler becomes the first female recipient of the NC State Outstanding Teacher Award.

Dr. Ellis Brevier Cowling is awarded the North Carolina Award for Science.

NC State hired Dr. Lawrence M. Clark (1934-2012) as Associate Provost. Dr. Clark was the second African American to serve as a university administrator. In addition to serving as a professor of mathematics education, Dr. Clark coordinated all activities related to the university’s Affirmative Action Plan. Dr. Clark was instrumental in the founding of NC State’s African American Cultural Center, the Peer Mentor program, and the African American Symposium.

Rajendra Pachauri was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree. He had previously earned a Master of Science degree in 1972. Later, in 2007, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize.

Barbara Parramore becomes the second female department head, leading the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at its founding.

Dr. John T. Caldwell retired after 15 years as NC State's chancellor. Caldwell oversaw a period of unprecedented growth for the university: of the nearly 47,000 degrees awarded in the first 85 years of the university, two-thirds were earned during Caldwell's tenure.

The Department of Recreation and Park Administration becomes the first department of its kind in the United States to receive accreditation from the Council on Accreditation of the National Recreation and Park Association.

The Department of Politics is renamed the Department of Political Science.

Mary E. (Betty) Wheeler becomes head of the Department of History, and only the third female to hold a position of department head at NC State.

The Department of Modern Languages is renamed the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.

The State Climate Office of North Carolina finds a permanent home in PAMS. The office had been established as part of the UNC System in 1976, and was primarily housed at UNC-Chapel Hill. Since moving to NC State, the office has grown into the primary source for North Carolina weather and climate information and for climate-related research, education and extension services.

The Department of Political Science is renamed the Department of Political Science and Public Administration.

The Department of Electrical Engineering is renamed the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The Department of Geosciences merges with the Department of Marine Science and Engineering to form the Department of Marine, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences.

Geology professor Garrett Briggs is named the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences' second dean. Briggs served until 1988, leaving NC State to serve as president of Peace College until his retirement from academics in 1998.

NC State's new School of Veterinary Medicine holds classes for the first time; initial enrollment is 40 students, selected from 126 applicants.

Katherine W. Klein, Associate Professor of Psychology, becomes the first female faculty member to be named an Alumni Distinguished Professor.

The Department of Product/Visual Design is renamed the Department of Product and Visual Design.

This department formed from the split of the Department of Textiles Materials and Management.

The department was formed when the Department of Textile Materials and Management was split.

The degrees are earned by Melinda Hollingshead in August and Cathy Carlson in December.

In July 1986, as a result of successful advocacy by Dr. Hren and others, the name of the Department of Materials Engineering was chanced officially to Materials Science and Engineering. The new name reflects the dual nature of known routes to success within the materials disciplines by maintaining expertise in both science and engineering, consistent with recent trends among the nation’s materials-oriented academic institutions.

Debra W. Stewart was appointed interim dean of the Graduate School, the first female dean and the first woman to serve as dean of the Graduate School. Her appointment became permanent in 1988. She served as dean until 2000.

Eight of the university's academic schools are redesignated as colleges.

In fall 1988, NC State implemented an African-American Studies minor, the first of its kind at the university. The interdisciplinary minor required students to take courses in both history and English literature.

Elizabeth C. Theil becomes the first woman at NC State to hold a named professorship, and is honored with the University of North Carolina's O. Max Gardner Award.

The Department of Computer Science is transferred from the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences to the College of Engineering.

Black student leaders gathered at the Student Center to discuss campus issues. The low graduation rate for black students, the lack of African American faculty members and athletic administrators, and the discriminatory discipline practices within the athletics department were problems cited by black leaders during this meeting.

The Department of Textile Management and Technology is renamed the Department of Textile and Apparel Management.

The Department of Textile Chemistry and the Department of Textile Engineering and Science merged to form the Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science.

The Mars Mission Research Center is established. This is a cooperative effort between NC State and NC A&T State University.

The Women's Studies Program is established, with Barbara Risman as its first director.

The department of Recreation and Park Administration is renamed the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management.

New Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics created in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The Information Technologies Teaching Center (ITTC) is established in the D. H. Hill Library, initially funded through a gift from the Class of 1990.

The first formal Fall Graduation took place on December 19, 1990.

The Department of Product and Visual Design splits into the Department of Graphic Design and the Department of Industrial Design.

PAMS establishes The Science House to provide hands-on science opportunities to K-12 students. Today, The Science House is a national model for the interaction of university science departments and K-12 students and teachers. Through its main office on Centennial Campus, five satellite offices throughout the state, and its online presence, The Science House annually impacts 5,000 teachers and 35,000 students across North Carolina and beyond.

James Anderson becomes the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, making him the first African-American dean.

The UNC Board of Governors authorizes the establishment of the College of Management at NC State. The college was formed out of what had previously been the Division of Economics and Business in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. During the college's first year, Robert L. Clark served as interim dean.

The Board of Trustees established the Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence to honor NC State faculty members who have made outstanding contributions to the university through achievements in research, teaching, or extension and engagement.

Barbara Parramore became the first female faculty member to receive the Holladay Medal for Excellence.

An undergraduate Biomedical Engineering concentration is established within the College of Engineering.

The Graphic Communications program merges with the Math and Science Education program to form the Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education.

The Department of Textile and Apparel Management is renamed the Department of Textile and Apparel Technology and Management.

A crowd of approximately 500 students and faculty members rallied in Witherspoon in support of affirmative action. Students opposed UNC system President Molly Broad’s proposal to eliminate race based programs within the UNC system.

NC State becomes one of the first land-grant universities to offer masters' and doctoral degrees in genomic science.

The Department of Biochemistry is renamed the Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry.

Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry relocated from the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Statistics professor Daniel L. Solomon is named the fourth dean of the College.

The Department of Toxicology was renamed the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology. More historical information about the department exists on its website.

The Department of Psychology is transferred from the College of Education (formerly, the College of Education and Psychology) to the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. More historical information can be found on the departmental website.

The Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program is established with 56 freshman women with majors in PAMS and the College of Engineering. As of 2009, this “living and learning village” has a full complement of 256 women majoring in five colleges across campus, and a high school chapter has been established at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.

The Department of Civil Engineering is renamed the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering.

The Department of Biomedical Engineering is established, co-located at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Medicine and NC State's College of Engineering.

The Department of Forestry was renamed the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources. More historical information exists on the departmental website.

The Fox Science Teaching Laboratory opens, making new undergraduate chemistry lab facilities to students.

The Department of Chemical Engineering was renamed the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. More historical information exists on the department's website.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering moves from Daniels Hall to Engineering Building II on Centennial Campus.

The Department of Industrial Engineering is renamed the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, making it the first named department at NC State. More historical information is available on the departmental website.

The Department of Adult and Community College Education is renamed the Department of Adult and Higher Education.

The Department of Botany is renamed the Department of Plant Biology.

The Department of Political Science and Public Administration divides into two departments: Department of Political Science and the Department of Public Administration; these two departments comprise the School of Public and International Affairs (within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences)

The Department of Physics moves into its new home in Riddick Hall, which had been completely gutted and renovated to provide the department with about 10,000 square feet of badly needed space for its growing number of faculty, staff and students.

The Department of Elementary Education is established within the College of Education.

The Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, along with the College of Natural Resources, moves into a new wing of Jordan Hall. The new wing is comprised of 10,000 square feet of high-tech classrooms and teaching laboratories and quiet and comfortable offices and meeting spaces.

The Department of Zoology is renamed the Department of Biology.

The Department of Philosophy and Religion is renamed the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies.

SAS Hall is dedicated as the new home of the Departments of Mathematics and Statistics. The 119,000 square-foot building houses state-of-the-art classrooms, computer labs, tutorial centers and meeting and study space for students and faculty.

Advanced Standing Master of Social Work Program established.

The Department of Wood and Paper Science was renamed the Department of Forest Biomaterials. More historical information exists on the departmental website.

The department becomes the Prestage Department of Poultry Science after receiving a $10 million gift to honor Bill and Marsha Prestage, owners of the Prestage Farms poultry and pork production company.

The College of Sciences was established, combining programs from the former College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences with several biological science programs from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The donation provided additional funding for the Park Scholars program.