NCSU Timelines

1880s

1889 Department of Chemistry established
10/1889 First Chemistry courses
Courses in chemistry taught when the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts opens

1894 First Masters degree conferred
The first masters degree was conferred. Frank Theophilus Meacham was awarded a Master of Science in Chemistry.

1911 Department of Chemistry moves
The Department of Chemistry moves from Holladay Hall to Winston Hall.
Winston Hall, North Carolina State College

6/7/1927 First degrees conferred to women
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.
Charlotte Ruth Nelson portrait

1937 Department of Chemistry assignment
The Department of Chemistry is placed under the administration of the School of Agriculture.
1937 Department of Agriculture and Biological Chemistry
Department of Chemistry is renamed the Department of Agriculture and Biological Chemistry.
9/30/1938 Chemistry research
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.

1940 Department of Agriculture and Biological Chemistry relocated
Department of Agriculture and Biological Chemistry relocates from Winston Hall to Withers Hall.
1949 Female faculty increases
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.

1960 Department of Chemistry
The Department of Agriculture and Biological Chemistry is renamed the Department of Chemistry.
1960 Department of Chemistry relocated
The Department of Chemistry is transferred from the School of Agriculture to the School of Physical Science and Applied Mathematics.
7/1/1960 School of Physical Science and Applied Mathematics established
9/18/1963 Protective eyewear required in Chemistry labs
All Chemistry lab students must now wear protective eyewear, as voted on by the Chemistry Department, regardless of whether that student otherwise wears glasses.
1969 Department of Chemistry moves
The Department of Chemistry moves from Withers Hall to Dabney Hall.
Dabney Hall

1988 Jerry Whitten becomes PAMS's third dean
Chemistry professor Jerry Whitten becomes PAMS's third dean.
Dean Whitten (PAMS)

2004 Fox Science Teaching Laboratory opens
The Fox Science Teaching Laboratory opens, making new undergraduate chemistry lab facilities to students.
Marye Anne Fox Science Teaching Laboratory