TMCF to Honor N.C. A&T Chancellor Martin for Educational Leadership

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Sept. 24, 2019) – Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) will bestow its Educational Leadership Award upon North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. next month.

Martin is one of three leaders who will be honored at TMCF’s 32^nd Anniversary Awards Gala on Oct. 19 in Washington, D.C., gala chairman Charles Merinoff announced.

“Harold raises the bar through his visionary leadership and innovative ideas at the helm of the largest publicly-supported HBCU in the nation,” TMCF president and CEO Harry L. Williams said.

Martin was elected the university’s 12^th chancellor in 2009 and is the first alumnus to serve as its chief executive. His tenure has been distinguished by a focus on long-range strategic planning and tactical leadership that has dramatically improved N.C. A&T’s standing among the nation’s land grant doctoral research universities, as well as among historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

With a fall enrollment of more than 12,500 students, N.C. A&T remains the nation’s largest HBCU for a fifth straight year. U.S. News & World Report rated N.C. A&T as the nation’s No. 1 public HBCU in its “Best Colleges 2020” report. N.C. A&T also remains North Carolina’s most affordable campus, according to Money magazine’s “Best Colleges for Your Money 2019” rankings.

These results reflect intentional, steady growth under Martin’s plan, A&T Preeminence: Taking the Momentum to 2023, which projects a body of 14,000 students by its conclusion and includes key performance indicators based on student success, affordability, diversity and more.

A Winston-Salem native, Martin earned his B.S. and M.S., both in electrical engineering, from A&T and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Before his election as chancellor, he served as senior vice president for academic affairs for the University of North Carolina system. He also served as the 11^th chief administrator and seventh chancellor of Winston-Salem State University and in a number of administrative posts at A&T, including vice chancellor for the Division of Academic Affairs, dean of the College of Engineering and chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering.

Along with Martin, TMCF will recognize Ally Financial Inc. CEO Jeffrey J. Brown with its CEO of the Year Award and Kay Cole James, president of The Heritage Foundation President and founder of The Gloucester Institute, with its HBCU Alumni Leadership Award.

Established in 1987, TMCF is the nation’s largest organization exclusively representing the Black College Community. Member-schools include publicly-supported HBCUs and Predominantly Black Institutions, enrolling nearly 80% of all students attending black colleges and universities.