Asian & Asian American Community

Chinese students Pow King Chu, Tao Shen Foo, Shang Wu Jen, and William P. H. Hwang graduated.

Shang Wu Jen was awarded the first Master of Science degree in textile manufacturing. This was the first master's degree in the textile program.

Tayn Sung Thom of Hong Kong graduated with a degree in textile engineering.

Laxman Vinayak Gogate of India graduated with a degree in business administration and Shankar Krishna Marathe of India graduated with a degree in textile chemistry. They both enrolled in 1921.

Under the leadership of textile chemistry and dyeing instructor Kenneth MacKenzie, a Master of Science degree program was established. The first student to receive this degree was Wei Pen Chen.

Chinese delegates addressed State College students and Raleigh citizens in an event sponsored by the YMCA and YWCA.

Ernesto Ventura Santos and Luis Hidalgo Lim of the Philippines graduated. Santos graduated with a degree in textile chemistry and dyeing, and Lim graduated with a degree in chemical engineering with high honors.

George Matsumoto, Japanese American architect, joined the faculty at the College of Design.

Munir Ahmad Khan of Pakistan graduated with a degree in electrical engineering.

T. B. Lal of India was the first international graduate student to earn a master's degree in Plant Pathology.

Three South Korean graduate students enrolled: Wan Yong Chen (nuclear engineering), Jong Soon Kim (psychology), and Jong Chul Park (chemical engineering).

You Song Kim of South Korea graduated with a degree in ceramic engineering.

Sorasith Vacharotayan of Thailand graduated with a degree in agronomy.

Graduate students Shing-Gong Liu and Jui-Ming Lee of Taiwan both enrolled in the electrical engineering program.

Dr. Ken-ichi Kojima graduated in 1958 with a PhD in experimental statistics. Dr. Kojima was an Assistant Geneticist with the genetics department along with a joint appointment in the Department of Experimental Statistics in 1958. Dr. Kojima became an Associate Professor of Genetics by 1963 then promoted to full professor on July 1, 1964.

Graduate student Charlie Kaw of Burma enrolled in the textiles program.

As part of a speaking tour of the United States, the de facto First Lady of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963, Tran Le Xuan (also known as Madame Nhu), conducted a press conference at NC State to influence U.S. opinion of Vietnam.

T. Ming Chu graduated with a MS degree in Food Science on July 1965. Chu later developed a prostate cancer detection test that saved countless lives.

The International Farm Youth Exchange (IFYE) delegates Jane Warren and Karen Brewer joined Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos in planting his nation's new "miracle" rice along with other Filipino delegates.

Tomoko Ohta graduated in 1967 with a PhD in genetics and was the first Japanese woman to receive a doctorate at NC State. Her dissertation chair was Professor Ken-ichi Kojima. Ohta previously obtained her master's degree in genetics in 1965.

In July of 1967, Dr. Terumi Mukai was hired in the Department of Genetics as Associate Professor. After the departure of Dr. Kojima, he oversaw the fruit fly gene mutation program in the genetics lab where Justina Williams worked as a research assistant.

Vincent Fang was awarded a Master of Science degree. He later started the first knitting operation in Hong Kong.

4-H members Carolyn J. Seymour and Lee Hood Capps met Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos in Davao City, Philippines, as a part of 4-H International Youth Development project.

The men's basketball team participated in an exhibition game, led by coach Norman Sloan, during a trip to the Philippines. NC State played against teams from Asian countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.

According to data from the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, NC State had 54 enrolled students who identified as Asian out of a student body of 16,903. The data did not distinguish U.S. nationals or international students within the Asian enrollment data.

Paul Zia became the head of civil engineering department in 1979 after joining the civil engineering faculty at NC State in 1961. Professor Zia earned a BS in civil engineering from the National Chiao Tung University of China in 1949, a MS from the University of Washington in 1952, and a PhD from the University of Florida in 1960.

Jim Yocum was elected in 1982 and was the first Asian American student body president.

A new PhD program in textile technology management was created in 1991 to better prepare managers required to manage increasingly more complex technical operations. The first graduate was Jin-Feng Wang in 1993.

Taiwanese students at NC State held a protest and sit-in demonstration in response to sociopolitical events involving Taiwan, China, and the United States.

Chancellor Larry K. Monteith launched the Diversity Initiative to provide more equitable access to educational resources on campus regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic background, physical disabilities, and other related factors.

Jenny Chang was elected as student body president from 1998 to 1999.

Raj Mirchandani was elected as student body president from 1999 to 2000.

NC State passed Policy 04.25.05, known as the Equal Opportunity, Non-Discrimination and Affirmative Action Policy. The policy supported equal opportunity and affirmative action efforts, and prohibited discrimination and harassment based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or genetic information.

Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. officially became a registered student organization in fall 2011. Kappa Phi Lambda was the first Asian-American interest sorority on campus.

NC State University offered the first Asian American Culture and Literature course, FL 394, in spring 2016. The class was taught by Nathaniel Isaacson from the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. Former assistant director of the GLBT Center, Nathan Nguyen, contacted Isaacson to develop this course due to increasing student interest.

The Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternity chapter officially became a registered student organization on November 19th, 2016. Lambda Phi Epsilon was an Asian-interest, but not Asian exclusive, fraternity with over sixty established chapters in North America.

The Office of Institutional Research and Planning reported that NC State had 2,282 enrolled students who identified as Asian out of a student body of 35,479. The data did not distinguish U.S. nationals or international students within the Asian enrollment data.

The Filipino American Student Association (FASA) officially became a registered student organization in fall 2018. The student group unofficially formed in Fall 2017.

The Nine Star Lion Dance Troupe officially became a registered student organization in fall 2019. The student group unofficially formed in October of 2018 and was originally named the Lion Dance Troupe.

The CRANE Collective is the forefront of the Asian community at NCSU. This student group is committed to promoting crucial Asian narratives by means of education, action, and engagement by uplifting the on-campus and local communities.