Histories of Diverse Communities at NC State

Ellen McGuire was an African American woman who began working at NC State in 1908. According to a 1939 Technician article, McGuire was born into slavery on a North Carolina plantation. Although McGuire maintained many responsibilities, she spent many years working in the infirmary on campus.

Lucille Thomson of Wilmington, NC, became the first woman to fully enroll at NC State University. She studied electrical engineering from 1921 to 1923.

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

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.

Sam Gurneau (part Ojibwe) was a star athlete in football, basketball, track, and wrestling. He intercepted and ran 65 yards for a touchdown versus Carolina in November 1930.

Katharine Stinson, personal friend of Amelia Earhart, was the first woman to enroll in mechanical engineering.

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.

La Casa Latino Americana was formed by student Leonardo Valderrama of Peru and Dr. Sanford Winston of NC State's sociology department. The club aimed to "form friendly relations among the Americas" and was open to any interested Raleigh residents.

Eighteen women won a fellowship award of $1,425 from Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, which offered to employ them as engineering aides after completing a 48-week course offered by State College.

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.

Emily Catherine Brown Blount of Fayetteville, NC, became the first woman to receive a BS in civil engineering from NC State in 1953. She received a professional degree in civil engineering in 1954. Blount went on to become the first woman licensed as a professional engineer in North Carolina in 1960, and she was inducted into the North Carolina Transportation Hall of Fame in 2007.

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

The first four African American undergraduates enrolled at North Carolina State College: Ed Carson (electrical engineering), and Manuel Crockett (electrical engineering) enrolled in summer. Irwin Holmes (electrical engineering), and Walter Holmes (mechanical engineering, aerospace option) enrolled in fall.

The first African American woman hired as an academic staff member, Justina Williams, worked in the Department of Genetics's drosophila research lab. Many African Americans worked at State prior to Williams's appointment, however, they primarily worked in custodial or food service positions.

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.

A group of NC State students joined with students from Shaw University to protest racial segregation policies in effect at the State Theater on Salisbury Street.

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.

Marcus Martin was the first African American player to join the football team.

Alfred "Al" Heartley and William Cooper became the first African American members of the freshman basketball team. Heartley later went on to play on the varsity team.

Eric Moore became the first African American student senate president.

Clyde Chesney was the first African American to receive a football scholarship.

Willie Burden and Charley Young became the first African American students to receive full football scholarships as incoming freshmen. After their college careers, Burden and Young were recruited into the NFL.

The Eta Omicron chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha was chartered. Its early history was summarized and seven founding members were listed in a 1975 Technician article

Delta Sigma Theta was chartered as the first African American sorority chapter on campus. In 1975, the Mu Omicron chapter gained enough members to be officially recognized by the national Delta Sigma Theta organization.

Kathy Bounds, Deb Webb, and Genie Jordan organized a basketball club for women.

Head coach Kay Yow was an assistant coach for Team USA from 1974 to 1984, winning a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics. She became the head coach of Team USA from 1981 to 1988 and helped lead her squad to a gold medal in 1988.

Ted Brown became the first African American player named an All-American in football. In 2012, he was inducted into the NC State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Trudi Lacey was the first African American woman to receive a four-year scholarship in women's basketball at NC State in 1978. She helped the Wolfpack win the school's first ACC women's basketball championship in 1980. She was the first player in ACC history to earn four consecutive all-tournament honors. After college, she coached a number of teams including the Charlotte Sting, the Washington Mystics, Queens College, and Johnson and Wales University.

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.

This organization was a local chapter of the first fraternal organization founded on the campus of a historically black college.

Gay Awareness Day was sponsored by the NC State Gay Community student group.

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

George Tarantini of Argentina coached men's soccer and retired in November of 2010 as the winningest soccer coach in school history. He earned ACC "Coach of the Year" honors in 1992 and 1994 and was the NCAA "Regional Coach of the Year" in 1994. He directed the Wolfpack to nine NCAA Tournament appearances.

Soccer player Tab Ramos of Uruguay earned his third All-American honor in 1987. He was also named MVP of the 1987 soccer team. Ramos was later a three-time member of the US World Cup Team, and he was the US Soccer Federation "Athlete of the Year" in 1990. He played professionally for the NY/NJ Metro Stars from 1996 to 2002. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2005 and the NC State Hall of Fame in 2012.

Greeks United sponsored the March Against Racism-Challenging History (M.A.R.C.H.) to support change in the university's policies towards African American students. During the protest, students marched to the chancellor's office in Holladay Hall to present a petition that demanded immediate action. NC State's first African American student body president, Kevin Howell (1987-1988), participated in the M.A.R.C.H.

NC State's first annual "Take Back the Night" march and rally was held to protest violence against women.

The Lesbian and Gay Student Union was a student group, and it was also known as the Lesbian/Gay Student Union. It came into existence in 1989 and was active until 1996. It may have been the first gay and lesbian student group to receive appropriations from Student Government.

The Native American Student Association sponsored NC State's first annual Pow Wow. The event featured Native American culture, including food, dress, and especially dance.

The first woman commencement speaker was poet and author Maya Angelou. UNC President C. D. Spangler also made remarks. Timothy Van Cooke gave the Address to Fellow Graduates. During the ceremony, a Cessna airplane flew over Carter-Finley Stadium with a "Fire Monteith" banner, protesting the recent appointment of Larry Monteith as chancellor. This is the last numbered commencement.

The African American Cultural Center opened in the new Student Center Annex, later renamed the Witherspoon Student Center. In 1992, following months of student and faculty protests, NC State administrators granted the African American Cultural Center an operating budget.

Several student groups organized an anti-hate rally in Harris Field in response to recent rapes on campus, sexual harassment in classrooms, racist remarks from professors, and anti-gay messages in the Free Expression Tunnel.

Project Safe started to create a "safe, nonjudgmental campus climate" for anyone with questions about gay, lesbian, and bisexual issues.

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

The Society of Native American Culture (SNAC) published the Native American "10 Commandments" in the Technician.

The Technician reported that the Native American Symposium offered information for incoming freshmen, including information on navigating campus.

The Technician reported that members of the Native American Student Association and American Indian Science and Engineering Society presented Chancellor Marye Anne Fox with a proclamation celebrating November Indian Heritage Month. Governor Mike Easley signed the proclamation.

Puerto Rican Jose Picart was appointed Vice Provost for Diversity and African-American Affairs as well as professor in the Department of Counselor Education. Jose Picart later served as interim dean for the College of Education from 2009 to 2010.

Mi Familia and SHPE presented a Latin American cultural variety show called "Somos Estrellas" in Stewart Theatre.

Native American Culture Night became an annual event sponsored by the Native American Student Association.

The GLBT Center opened a new office and officially became a department under the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, after years as a resource within Campus Activities. Justine Hollingshead was the founding director.

In the summer of 2010, student Saul Flores walked 5,000 miles across ten countries from Ecuador to Charlotte, NC, to bring awareness of Latin American issues. During this trip, he took over 20,000 photographs, and he donated sales from the images for the rebuilding of a school in his mother’s hometown of Atencingo, Mexico. The photographs were exhibited by the Libraries as the "Walk of the Immigrants." Flores graduated from NC State in 2012 with degrees in graphic design and business marketing.

Members from NC State's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Community Alliance (GLBTCA) attended the NC Pride Parade and Festival in Durham.

President Barack Obama spoke before an audience in Reynolds Coliseum and promoted the American Jobs Act.

Jackie Gonzalez was the first Latinx person elected student body president. Gonzalez and Vice President Mia Connell formed the first woman-of-color team elected into the highest student government offices.