Overview

North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, a public historically Black land-grant research university, is located in Greensboro, North Carolina. As a member of the University of North Carolina System, it was founded on March 9, 1891, by the North Carolina General Assembly as the Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race. It was the second institution established under the Morrill Act of 1890 and the first in North Carolina specifically for African Americans. Initially, the educational institution focused on subjects like agriculture, English, horticulture, and mathematics. In 1967, it was designated a Regional University and officially renamed North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

With an enrollment of over 14,000 students, this historically Black college (HBCU) is the largest in the United States, a title it has held since 2014. The College of Engineering produces the highest number of Black engineering graduates in the country, while the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences leads in African American agriculture graduates. The university is also a top producer of Black professionals in kinesiology, landscape architecture, nursing, education, and journalism/mass communication.

As a higher education institution, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University offers 54 undergraduate, 29 master’s, and 9 doctoral programs through eight colleges, one school, and one joint school. Annually, it grants over 2,600 degrees and boasts an alumni network of approximately 65,000. The main campus spans more than 600 acres, including a 492-acre working farm and two research parks covering 150 acres. Recognized as an “R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity” institution, it ranks third in sponsored funding among United States colleges within the University of North Carolina System. As of 2021, the university conducted over $78 million in academic and scientific research annually and operated 20 research centers and institutes.

Students, alumni, and athletic teams of this technical university are known as the “Aggies.” North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University competes in NCAA Division I athletics, with its varsity teams primarily participating in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), except for women’s bowling and football.

North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University

Former Names:

Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race (1891–1915)
Negro Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina (1915–1957)
Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina (1957–1967)

Motto: Mens et Manus (Latin) – “Mind and Hand”

Type: Public historically Black land-grant research university

Established: March 9, 1891 (133 years ago)

Parent Institution: University of North Carolina

Accreditation: SACS

Academic Affiliations: ORAU, TMCF

Endowment: $202 million (2024)

Chancellor: James R. Martin II

Provost: Tonya Smith-Jackson

Academic Staff: 759

Students: 14,331 (Fall 2024)

Postgraduates: 1,669 (Fall 2023)

Location: Greensboro, North Carolina, United States

Campus:

Large city, 200-acre main campus
492-acre agricultural campus

Newspaper: The A&T Register

Colors: Blue and Gold

Nickname: Aggies

Sporting Affiliations:

NCAA Division I FCS – CAA
CAA Football
MEAC

Mascot: Aggie the Bulldog

Website: ncat.edu

Establishment and Early Development

North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University traces its origins to 1890 when the United States Congress enacted the Second Morrill Act. This legislation primarily targeted Confederate states, mandating that states either demonstrate race was not a factor in admissions or establish a separate land-grant higher education institution for African Americans. To comply with this law while continuing to exclude African Americans from North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts—now North Carolina State University—state officials authorized temporary arrangements for students of color.

On March 9, 1891, the Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race was founded as an extension of Shaw University in Raleigh by an act of the North Carolina General Assembly. The act stated that the technical college would focus on agricultural and mechanical arts while incorporating academic and classical education. Initially, the college university had 37 students and four faculty members, offering instruction in agriculture, English, mathematics, and horticulture.

The college operated in Raleigh until 1892, when its Board of Trustees decided to relocate to Greensboro. The transition was supported by land and monetary donations totaling $11,000 for a 14-acre (5.7 ha) campus. The first president, John Oliver Crosby, was appointed on May 25, 1892. Admission was open to both men and women of color until 1901, when it became a male-only institution. This policy remained in place until 1928, when women were readmitted. The first degrees were awarded in 1899, and by 1904, the educational institution had expanded, establishing a 100-acre (40 ha) farm to support campus food supply needs. In 1915, it was renamed Negro Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina.

Growth and Expansion

In 1925, Ferdinand D. Bluford became the college’s third president, and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University joined the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association, now the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The university near me also established its national alumni association the following year. The institution regained its coeducational status in 1928, and by 1931, female students were integrated into student government. In 1939, it was granted the authority to offer Master of Science degrees, and by 1941, the first such degree had been awarded.

During the 1940s and 1950s, the university expanded its land holdings and academic offerings. The campus grew with the addition of 96 acres (39 ha) in 1946, and in 1953, the School of Nursing was founded. The first class graduated in 1957, the same year the college was renamed Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina. That year also saw the institution admit its first white student, Rodney Jaye Miller. Full accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) followed in 1959.

Civil Rights Movement

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University played a key role in the Civil Rights Movement. On February 1, 1960, four freshmen—Ezell Blair (Jibreel Khazan), Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, and David Richmond—organized a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro. Their actions, known as the Greensboro sit-ins, helped ignite a wave of student-led protests across the South.

“We teach our students how to think, not what to think.”
—Warmoth T. Gibbs, fourth president of North Carolina A&T, responding to city officials urging him to prevent student participation in the sit-ins.

In 1964, John A. Steinhauer became the first white graduate of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, earning a Master of Science in Education. Three years later, the institution was officially designated a regional university by the North Carolina General Assembly and received its present name.

In 1969, a student-led protest escalated into the 1969 Greensboro Uprising, a four-day confrontation between students from North Carolina A&T and Dudley High School, the Greensboro Police, and the National Guard. Tensions arose after school officials at Dudley High denied victory to a write-in candidate for student council president, allegedly due to his activism. The protests led to an armed conflict and the National Guard’s intervention, culminating in the storming of a male dormitory, W. Kerr Scott Hall.

From the 1970s to Present

In 1971, the North Carolina General Assembly integrated all 16 public bachelor’s degree-granting institutions into the University of North Carolina system. As a result, North Carolina A&T became a constituent institution, and Lewis Carnegie Dowdy transitioned from president to the university’s first chancellor. Enrollment surged in the late 1980s, setting records with 6,200 students in 1988 and 6,500 the following year.

In 2003, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University partnered with UNC Greensboro to establish a Joint Millennial Campus, aiming to boost regional economic development. A year later, the Carnegie Foundation designated the technical university as a doctoral/research-intensive institution. In 2006, Lloyd V. Hackley was appointed interim chancellor, succeeded by Stanley F. Battle in 2008. Under Battle’s leadership, the university secured an $18 million National Science Foundation grant, making it the first historically Black college and university (HBCU) to lead an Engineering Research Center.

Harold L. Martin, Sr. was appointed as the university’s twelfth chancellor in 2009. Under his leadership, North Carolina A&T launched a Ph.D. program in Computational Science and Engineering in 2010 and introduced a Master of Science in Nanoengineering through the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN) in 2011. The historically Black college has since been recognized as a leader in nanotechnology research.

Martin also spearheaded the “A&T Preeminence 2020” initiative, a strategic plan that propelled North Carolina A&T to become the largest historically Black college in the United States in 2014. By 2018, it was ranked the top public HBCU by U.S. News & World Report, and in 2019, it entered the national research university rankings. In 2018, a new strategic plan, “A&T Preeminence: Taking the Momentum to 2023,” set ambitious goals for research expansion and student enrollment, aiming to grow the student body to 14,000.

In 2020, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated $45 million to North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University—the largest single gift in the university’s history and one of the largest ever awarded to an HBCU.

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University