N.C. A&T Skybox Suite To Be Named For Monroes

N.C. A&T Skybox Suite To Be Named For Monroes

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Aug. 29, 2019) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is naming a skybox suite at BB&T Stadium for Dr. Joseph and Sallie Monroe.

A ceremony with Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr., Vice Chancellor for Advancement Kenneth E. Sigmon Jr. and Athletics Director Earl M. Hilton III is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30, in the second-floor suite followed by a reception in the Chancellor’s Suite.

 “We are excited to honor the Monroes for their recent dynamic gift to the Department of Athletics,” Sigmon said. “Gifts like theirs play a significant role in the lives of our athletes and our athletic programs.”

In addition to their latest gift, the Monroes endowed a scholarship in computer science fall 2006. Their record of giving to the university dates back more than three decades.

Dr. Monroe graduated from N.C. A&T in 1962 with B.S. degrees in mathematics, English and French. He went on to earn his M.S. in 1967 and Ph.D. in 1972, both in computer science and from Texas A&M University, becoming the first African American to earn a doctoral degree in computer science in the United States.

Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and appointed as an associate professor of computer science at the U.S. Air Force Academy. From 1978- 1987, he held various positions there including Dean of Faculty, chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and chair of the Department of Computer Science, and was the first African American appointed as a full professor.

In 1987, he joined the faculty at Fayetteville State University where he held various academic and administrative positions, then in 1991 returned to A&T where he was named Ronald E. McNair Endowed Professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science. He took on an additional role in 2000 as dean of the College of Engineering.

The Monroes have two sons, Joseph Monroe Jr. and Air Force Col. Robert Bruce Monroe.