NC A&T Installs James R. Martin II as 13th Chancellor on Founders Day

James R. Martin II, Ph.D., M. ASCE stood before a packed Corbett Sports Center on March 9 to receive the formal installation as the 13th chancellor of North Carolina A&T State University, a ceremony deliberately timed to coincide with the 135th Founders Day Convocation marking the exact anniversary of the university's founding.

Martin had already been leading the nation's largest historically Black college or university since August 15, 2024, when he took office following his unanimous election by the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors on June 21, 2024. That selection came on the recommendation of UNC System President Peter Hans, who attended the ceremony and spoke from the front row at Corbett Sports Center alongside former N.C. A&T chancellor Harold L. Martin, Sr., who drew applause as he waved to the crowd upon entering.

In his installation address, Martin offered a blunt assessment of what serious ambition requires. "If you're really going to do things that matter in life, you better be ready to work hard," he told the audience. "It's going to be uphill, full stop." He also reflected on leadership in more personal terms, drawing a distinction between strength and power that he said shaped his thinking: "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."

His stated ambitions for the university are specific and measurable. Martin said A&T will become the nation's first R1 public HBCU and rank among the top 50 public research universities nationally within the next decade, competing not only within the HBCU category but across all institutions. "We're stronger in the success of our students, we're stronger in research, stronger in impact, stronger in possibility and opportunity," he said. "North Carolina A&T is and always will be defined by the people we include, and we'll continue to celebrate that."

Greensboro Mayor Marikay Abuzuaiter attended and offered her own assessment. "This signals an inspiring future not only for this great institution but for the world as well," she said. Wallace Means, a lifelong friend of Martin and N.C. A&T alumnus, described what the Board of Governors selected: "a leader with a brilliant mind, unquestionable integrity, relentless drive, and a commitment to excellence." Donna Ford, class of 1986 and founder and CEO of the Ladies of A&T as well as a SodexoMagic vice president, tied the ceremony's symbolism to broader institutional history. "We stand on a solid foundation. We stand on legacy, and now we are leading," she said.

The founding date chosen for the ceremony carries its own weight. On March 9, 1891, the North Carolina General Assembly established the Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race. John Oliver Crosby was elected its first president on May 25, 1892, and the Greensboro campus opened the following year. Over 135 years, the university shaped generations of leaders including the late Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., and grew into what it describes as a cornerstone of civic engagement and social change.

Since taking office in August 2024, Martin has pursued an agenda that includes building external partnerships with government agencies and corporations, overhauling university operations, and assembling a new leadership team. The university made several senior appointments in the days surrounding the installation, naming Maurice A. Ferrell as vice chancellor for information technology services and CIO on March 6 and Heidi Norman as vice chancellor for strategic partnerships and economic development on March 4. After concluding his installation address, Martin walked the recessional and pointed toward friends and family in the crowd, a moment captured in the university's official photography from the event.