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After more than a year at the helm of North Carolina A&T State University, Chancellor James R. Martin II was formally installed as the university’s 13th chancellor during a celebratory ceremony at Corbett Sports Center, surrounded by family, friends, colleagues and students.
With his sister, Patricia Duncanson, by his side holding the Bible, Martin placed his left hand upon it, raised his right hand and took the oath of office, administered by The Honorable Paul Jones ’71, a retired N.C. Superior Court judge.
“Always remember, when you’re on a journey, the scenery along that journey will change every mile,” Martin said. “Most travelers don’t change. Don’t be that traveler who doesn’t change.”
Martin expressed gratitude to those who gathered to support him and reflected on the values that shaped his path to leadership.
“I am so very grateful,” he said, thanking those in attendance for their support and love over the years.
He said his parents taught him to value public service, education and faith.
“If you’re really going to do things that matter in life, you better be ready to work hard,” said Martin. “It’s going to be uphill, full stop.”
He also spoke about the lessons they taught him about leadership.
“They taught me to learn the difference between strength and power,” he said. “It takes strength to get through life, to carry loads and lead people. You have to be powerful because you carry your load and the loads of others, and they taught me to keep embracing God for that power.”
Martin was elected the 13th chancellor of N.C. A&T on June 21, 2024, by unanimous vote of the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors following his nomination by UNC System President Peter Hans. He began serving the university on August 15, 2024.
A scholar in disaster risk engineering and earthquake science, Martin earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from The Citadel and a master’s and doctorate in civil engineering from Virginia Tech. His research in earthquake zones around the world has contributed to stronger building codes in the United States, and he has provided engineering consulting for nearly 100 firms and government agencies internationally.
Before arriving at A&T, Martin built a distinguished record in higher education leadership at major public universities, including Virginia Tech and Clemson University, where he served as the founding executive director of the Risk Engineering and Systems Analytics Institute. He came to A&T after serving as the U.S. Steel Dean of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering and as vice chancellor for STEM Innovation and Research.
During the ceremony, Hans praised Martin as a visionary leader prepared to elevate the university’s national standing.
“This community needed someone to build on those strengths, to grow the research impact of this institution, to bring a life-changing education to an even greater number of students,” Hans said. “Some leaders help you survive the storm, but other leaders help you possess the blessing.”
Hans also emphasized that the installation ceremony was both a celebration of Martin and a reflection of the collective strength behind the university.
“No chancellor succeeds or struggles alone,” Hans said. “So, we mark an installation with ceremonial celebration to remind ourselves that a great university rests on the strength and the commitment of its faculty and staff, on the energy and ambition of its students, and on the goodwill of the people of North Carolina.”
Friends and colleagues also marked the occasion by sharing personal reflections, professional tributes and words of encouragement.
Among them was Wallace Means ’86, who grew up with Martin in Union County, South Carolina, and addressed the audience as both a lifelong friend and proud Aggie alumnus.
“Now, as Aggies, we are fiercely protective of our legacy. We love this university deeply. We are the largest and the best HBCU in the world,” Means said. “We are the essence of Aggie Pride. And because of that, Chancellor Martin, we are extremely protective of whom we entrust with its future. Today, my brother, we affirm that we trust you with the future of this grand institution.”
The installation ceremony coincided with the university’s 135th Founders Day celebration, adding even greater significance to the moment. Observed annually, Founders Day honors the university’s founding and its enduring legacy of excellence.
“We stand on a solid foundation. We stand on legacy, and now we are leading,” said Donna Ford ’86, SodexoMagic vice president and Ladies of A&T (LOAT) founder and CEO, as she reflected on the educators, alumni and trailblazers who have shaped the institution’s legacy.
Established in 1891 under the Second Morrill Act of 1890, North Carolina A&T is a land-grant, doctoral, high-research activity historically Black university. It was founded by the N.C. General Assembly as the Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race and became the first public institution of higher learning for African Americans in North Carolina, as well as the second campus created nationally under the Morrill Act of 1890.
The university later relocated to Greensboro after local leaders offered $11,000 and 14 acres of land. The Board of Trustees accepted the offer in 1892, and John Oliver Crosby, who had been born into slavery, was elected as the college’s first president on May 25 of that year. The new Greensboro campus was established the following year.
Across its 135-year history, N.C. A&T has grown into a national leader in scholarship, research and service, while also serving as a cornerstone of civic engagement and social change. The university has helped shape generations of leaders, including civil rights icon, the late Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., and has remained deeply connected to the broader struggle for justice and opportunity.
While reflecting on that legacy, Martin made clear that his focus is also firmly on the future. He said that within the next decade, A&T will become the nation’s first R1 public HBCU and rank among the top 50 public research universities in the nation, not only among historically Black colleges and universities, but overall.
“As Aggies, we understand something about distance,” Martin said. “We know that distance traveled is never the end of the journey. It’s simply a place where we pause and look ahead.”
He pledged that the university would double its research enterprise and the size of its Graduate College through high-impact research and strategic partnerships with industry, government and peer institutions. He also said A&T would continue to grow enrollment and graduation success, with graduation rates rising above 80 percent, while expanding its endowment to more than $1 billion.
“We will prove to the world that access and excellence are not opposing forces,” Martin said. “While some elite universities are defined by who they exclude, North Carolina A&T is and always will be defined by the people we include. And we’ll continue to celebrate that.”
