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 | |
Harold Hair | No Year Indicated | Negro League baseball player for Birmingham Barons and Kansas City Monarchs | |
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. |