This list of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University alumni includes graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T), a public, coeducational, high research activity, land-grant university, located in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States.
North Carolina A&T is one of 16 public universities that constitute the University of North Carolina System, and one of the first public universities in the United States. [1] Founded in 1891 as the "Agricultural and Mechanical college for the Colored Race," N.C. A&T was the first land grant college for people of color in the state of North Carolina. [2] Over the 100 plus years of the university's existence, the academic scope expanded to encompass other disciplines. The North Carolina General Assembly redefined N.C. A&T as a regional university and through legislation made it a member of the University of North Carolina System in 1971. [2]
As of 2014, North Carolina A&T had about 40,000 living alumni. [3]
Alumni | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Harold Franklin | First Black student to attend Auburn University | ||
James A. Hefner | 1961 (B.S.), | Economist; seventh president of Jackson State University; sixth president of Tennessee State University | |
Melvin N. Johnson | 1968 (B.S.) | Economist; seventh president of Tennessee State University (2005–2011) | |
Harold L. Martin | (B.S.) (M.S.) | Engineer; twelfth chancellor of Winston-Salem State University; twelfth chancellor of North Carolina A&T; first and only alumnus to serve as chancellor of the university | |
Lynn Perry Wooten | Ninth president of Simmons University | [8] | |
Alumni | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Quincy K. Brown | 1995 (B.S.) | Computer scientist and former Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy | |
Ronald McNair | 1971 (B.S.) | Physicist and NASA astronaut; died during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L | |
Alumni | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Randolph Blackwell | (no year indicated) | Civil rights activist; emphasized economic development for poor African Americans; former program director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; former director of Southern Rural Action | |
Walter P. Carter | (no year indicated) | Civil rights activist and a central figure in Baltimore's civil rights movement, organizing demonstrations against discrimination throughout Maryland | |
Jacqueline Jackson | (no year indicated) | Author; peace activist | |
Jesse Jackson Sr. | 1964 (B.S.) | Civil rights activist; Baptist minister; candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination (1984 and 1988); shadow U.S. Senator for the District of Columbia (1991–1997); founder of the organizations that merged to form Rainbow/Push Coalition | |
Jonathan Jackson | 1987 (B.S.) | Business professor, entrepreneur, social justice advocate, national spokesman for the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition | |
Jibreel Khazan (born Ezell A. Blair, Jr.) | 1963 (B.S.) | Civil rights activist and member of the Greensboro Four/A&T Four; staged a sit-in at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro on February 1, 1960 | |
Franklin McCain | 1963 (B.S.) | Civil rights activist and member of the Greensboro Four/A&T Four; staged a sit-in at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro on February 1, 1960 | |
Joseph McNeil | 1963 (B.S.) | Civil rights activist and member of the Greensboro Four/A&T Four; staged a sit-in at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro on February 1, 1960 | |
David Richmond | (attended) 1990 (PhD) [Notes 1] | Civil rights activist and member of the Greensboro Four/A&T Four; staged a sit-in at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro on February 1, 1960 | |
Alumni | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Janice Bryant Howroyd | (no year indicated) (B.A.) | Entrepreneur; founder and CEO of ACT-1 Group, the largest minority woman-owned employment agency in the US | |
Joe Dudley | 1962 (B.S.) | Businessman and hair care entrepreneur; founder, president and CEO of Dudley Products Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of hair and skin care products for the African American community | |
Hilda Pinnix-Ragland | 1977 (B.S.) | Businesswoman and philanthropist; first African-American vice president at Progress Energy Inc and Duke Energy |
Alumni | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Lou Donaldson | (no year indicated) | Jazz alto saxophonist; 2012 inductee to the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame | |
Taraji P. Henson | Transferred to Howard University | Actress | |
Terrence J | 2004 (B.A.) | Actor and television personality; host of BET's 106 & Park ; co-anchor of E! News | |
Sybil Lynch | 1985 (B.A.) | R&B and pop singer–songwriter | |
Warren Ballentine | (no year indicated) | Motivational speaker, attorney, political activist, and radio talk show host |
Alumni | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Clara Leach Adams-Ender | 1961 (B.S.) | Former Chief of the United States Army Nurse Corps (1987–1991); first woman to receive her master's degree in military arts and sciences from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College; first African-American nurse corps officer to graduate from the United States Army War College |
Alumni | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Tom Alston | (No Year Indicated) | Former Major League Baseball first baseman; first African-American player for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
Tevester Anderson | 1971 (M.S.) | Retired college basketball coach; former men's head coach at Jackson State University and Murray State University | |
Al Attles | 1960 (B.A.)/(B.S.) | Retired NBA player; one of the first African-American coaches in the NBA when he was named player-coach of the Golden State Warriors during the 1969–70 season | |
Bob Beamon | (Transferred to University of Texas at El Paso) | Former Olympic athlete; known for setting a 22-year world record in the long jump at the 1968 Summer Olympics | |
Christopher Belcher | 2018 | World class international sprinter, broke 10-second barrier in 100 meters | |
Elvin Bethea | (no year indicated) | 2003 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee; played with the NFL's Houston Oilers; first N.C. A&T alum elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
Joe Binion | 1984 | Retired NBA player; played for the Portland Trail Blazers | |
Dwaine Board | 1979 | Former NFL player and coach; played for the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints (1979–1988); four-time Super Bowl champion (XVI, XIX, XXIII and XXIX) | |
Jessie Britt | (no year indicated) | Former NFL player for the Pittsburgh Steelers | |
Joseph Bunn | (Transferred to Old Dominion University) | Professional basketball player | |
Tarik Cohen | 2017 | NFL player for the Chicago Bears | |
Warren Davis | (no year given) | Former ABA and NBA player | |
Curtis Deloatch | 2003 | Former NFL player; played with the New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, and Carolina Panthers | |
Hugh Evans | (no year indicated) | Former NBA referee (1972–2001); currently assistant supervisor of officials in the NBA front office | |
Maurice Hicks | 2002 | Former NFL player; played with the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, and Minnesota Vikings | |
Al Holland | No Year Indicated | Retired Major League Baseball relief pitcher; 1983 National League Relief Pitcher of the Year and 1984 MLB All Star | |
Mamie Johnson | no year indicated | Former professional baseball player; one of three women, and the first female pitcher, to play in the Negro leagues | |
Jamal Jones | 2003 | Former NFL player; played with the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints | |
Connell Maynor | 1995 | Head coach of the Hampton Pirates | |
Ruth Morris | (no year indicated) | Sprinter who represented the United States Virgin Islands at the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympic Games; first A&T athlete to ever compete at the Olympics | |
Brandon Parker | 2018 | NFL player for the Oakland Raiders | |
Mel Phillips | (no year indicated) | Former NFL player, now coach; played his entire 12-year NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers; assistant coach with the Miami Dolphins (1985–present) | |
George Ragsdale | 1975 | Former professional football player with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; current college football coach | |
Randolph Ross | 2022 | Sprinter, gold medalist at 2020 Summer Olympics in the 4 × 400 metres relay | |
Rodney Rowe | 2018 | World class international sprinter for the United States | |
George Small | 1979 (B.S.) | College football coach at Florida A&M University; coached N.C. A&T to 2003 MEAC football championship | |
J.D. Smith | 1955 | Former NFL player; played with the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, and Dallas Cowboys; fifth all-time on the 49ers' career rushing yardage list (4,370 yards) | |
J.R. Smith | 2025 | Two-time National Basketball Association Champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers; joined the A&T golf team upon enrolling in 2021 | |
Maurice Smith | 1999 | Retired NFL player; played with the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers | |
Trevor Stewart | 2020 | Sprinter, gold and bronze medalist at 2020 Summer Olympics in the 4 X 400 and mixed 4 x 400 meter relays | |
Claude Williams | 1988 | Professional basketball player | |
Alumni | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed | 1986 (B.S.) | Senior leader of Al-Qaeda, "principal architect" of the September 11 attacks | |
Ryan Wesley Routh | Dropped out after two semesters | Suspect in an attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump in September 2024. |
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is a public, historically black, land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina System. Founded by the North Carolina General Assembly on March 9, 1891, as the Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race, it was the second college established under the provisions of the Morrill Act of 1890, as well as the first for people of color in the State of North Carolina. Initially, the college offered instruction in agriculture, English, horticulture and mathematics. In 1967, the college was designated a Regional University by the North Carolina General Assembly and renamed North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
The Ellis F. Corbett Health, Physical Education and Recreation Center, usually called simply the Corbett Sports Center and popularly referred to as the "Dawg Pound", is a multi-purpose arena in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States, on the campus of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. The complex is home to multiple North Carolina A&T Aggies athletic teams, including the men's and women's basketball teams as well as the women's volleyball and swimming teams. The complex, opened in 1978, is named after Ellis F. Corbett, a 1931 graduate of A&T. Affectionately known as "Mr.A&T", Corbett was, for many years, the director of public relations and executive secretary of the national alumni association.
The North Carolina A&T Aggies football program represents North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in college football. The Aggies play in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision as a member of CAA Football, the technically separate football league operated by the Aggies' full-time home of the Coastal Athletic Association.
The North Carolina A&T Aggies are the athletic teams that represent North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. The Aggies compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) in all sports with the exception of football and women's bowling. North Carolina A&T fields varsity teams in 13 sports, five for men and eight for women. The football team competes in Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, in the CAA's technically separate football arm of CAA Football.
The North Carolina A&T–North Carolina Central rivalry is an ongoing series of athletic competitions between North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and North Carolina Central University, both of which are located in North Carolina.
Franklin Eugene McCain was an American civil rights activist and member of the Greensboro Four. McCain, along with fellow North Carolina A&T State University students Ezell Blair Jr., Joseph McNeil and David Richmond, staged a sit-in protest at the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, on February 1, 1960, after they were refused service due to the color of their skin. Their actions were credited with launching the Greensboro sit-ins, a massive protest across state lines involving mostly students who took a stand against discrimination in restaurants and stores by refusing to leave when service was denied to them. The sit-ins successfully brought about the reversal of Woolworth's policy of racial segregation in their southern stores, and increased national sentiment to the fight of African-Americans in the south.
The history of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the first land grant college for people of color in the state of North Carolina, can be traced back to 1890, when the United States Congress enacted the Second Morrill Act which mandated that states provide separate colleges for the colored race. The "Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race" was established On March 9, 1891 by an act of the General Assembly of North Carolina and began in Raleigh, North Carolina as an annex to Shaw University. The college made a permanent home in Greensboro with the help of monetary and land donation by local citizens. The college granted admission to both men and women from 1893 to 1901, when the board of trustees voted to restrict admission to males only. This policy would remain until 1928, when female students were once again allowed to be admitted.
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University offers 177 undergraduate, 30 master's, and 9 doctoral degrees through its nine professional colleges. The colleges and schools function as autonomous units within the university and adheres to the university's mission and philosophy. Bachelor's and master's degree programs are offered through the Colleges of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences; Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences; Business and Economics; Education; Engineering; Health & Human Sciences and the Science & Technology. Doctoral programs are offered through the Colleges of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences; Engineering; Science & Technology; The Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering; and The Graduate College.
Ferdinand Douglass Bluford was an American educator, and the third president of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Bluford headed the college for 30 years, serving longer than any president or chancellor in the school's history.
Warmoth Thomas Gibbs Sr. was an American educator, retired Second Lieutenant in the United States Army, civil rights activist, and fourth president of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Gibbs was one of the first black commissioned officers in World War I and served as president of then North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College from 1955 to 1960. During his presidency, North Carolina A&T became accredited by the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges.
Lewis Carnegie Dowdy was an American educator and the sixth president, and first chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
John Oliver Crosby was an American educator and the first President of what is now North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina Historic District is 10.1-acre (41,000 m2) historic district along the western boundary of the campus of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. The area includes five historical Colonial Revival, Classical Revival style buildings. Some significant structures are among those located within the Historic District include the James B. Dudley Memorial Building and Harrison Auditorium. The district has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since October 20, 1988.
Harold L. Martin Sr. is an American engineer and educator who is Chancelor Emeritus of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and former chancellor of Winston-Salem State University.
David Leinail Richmond was a civil rights activist for most of his life, but he was best known for being one of the Greensboro Four. Richmond was a student at North Carolina A&T during the time of the Greensboro protests, but never ended up graduating from A&T. He felt pressure from the residual celebrity of being one of the Greensboro Four; his life was threatened in Greensboro and he was forced to move to Franklin, NC. Eventually, he moved back to Greensboro to take care of his father. Richmond was awarded the Levi Coffin Award for leadership in human rights by the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce in 1980. Richmond seemed to be haunted by the fact that he could not do more to improve his world, and battled alcoholism and depression. He died in 1990 and was awarded a posthumous honorary doctorate degree from North Carolina A&T
The 2015 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team represented North Carolina A&T State University as a member of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Rod Broadway, the Aggies compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for the MEAC title with Bethune–Cookman and North Carolina Central. North Carolina A&T was invited to inaugural Celebration Bowl, where the Aggies defeated Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), champion Alcorn State, earning the program's fourth black college football national championship. North Carolina A&T played home games at Aggie Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The 2016 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team represented North Carolina A&T State University as a member of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Rod Broadway, the Aggies compiled an overall record of 9–3 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, placing second in the MEAC. North Carolina A&T received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Aggies lost in the first round to Richmond. North Carolina A&T played home games at Aggie Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The 2017 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team represented North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This season marked the 94th for the program, and the final season for head coach Rod Broadway, who retired at the season's end. The Aggies finished the season undefeated with a record of 12–0, 8–0 in MEAC play, capturing their ninth conference title. The Aggies also earned an invitation to the Celebration Bowl where they defeated Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Grambling, earning their fifth black college football national championship. The Aggies played their home games at Aggie Stadium and were members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
The 2018 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team represented North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University as member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This season marked the 95th for the program, which was led by first-year head coach Sam Washington. The Aggies finished the season with a record of 9–2 and 6–1 in MEAC play, capturing their tenth conference title. The Aggies also earned an invitation to the Celebration Bowl where they defeated Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Alcorn State, earning their sixth black college football national championship. The Aggies played their home games at the newly renamed BB&T Stadium. They are a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).