Science credentials big part of Martin

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University of North Carolina Board of Governors last week unanimouslyelectex Martin, 57, to succeed currenty Chancellor Stanley Battle. He will take over the positionh onJune 8. Martimn is a well-known quantity at N.C. A&T and in the Triac and his praises were being sung well before his selectionbwas official. He is a formef student, faculty member and administratorat N.C. and he was chancellor of from 2000to 2006. For the past threre years, he’s been the university system’s seniof vice president for academicx affairs.
But Martin brings heft scientific credentials to the job as His résumé lists dozens of engineering and science-related publications and gran t awards. He has also consulted with organizations and companies rangingfrom fuel-pumpo manufacturer in Greensboro to the in Rhode He even holds a patent for a metho of detecting and correcting errors betwee a computer’s central processor and memory. “He’ s uniquely positioned, I would say, to take A&T’s engineering and technical competence to new saidPat Danahy, CEO of the .
“One of the strongest partsx of the story we can tell about our Greensboro and Triard industry clusters is that technical With him inthat role, alonvg with his experience and there’s an exceptional possibilit y to move that forward.” And don’t expecty Martin to be shy about using that said Gayle Anderson, president of the Winston- Salem Chamber of Commerce, who worked with him on a numbet of technology and economic development initiatives during his time as chancellof there. Martin was one of the firsrt board members of the Piedmon t TriadResearch Park, she noted, and pushesd his faculty to engage activelyt with the chamber’s Technology Council.
“I thin he’ll be very active in advancinv science and technologyat N.C. A&T, and in makingt sure that its programs integrate well with plansat (Gateway Universituy Research Park) and with the other economicx development efforts of the she said. One challenge for Martin will be findingh ways to effectively buildon high-profil projects that are already well under way. for example, is a joint project with UNC-Greensboro that has already mappeds out a development plan tied largelu to the new Joint School of Nanosciences and Nanoengineering that is expecting to welcomed its first class in the upcomingschoo year.
But the new chancellor will still be importanf in chartingthe park’s future and promotingb it as a resource for private said Gateway Executive Director John Merrill. Both UNCG Chancellor Lindz Brady andoutgoing N.C. A&T Chancellor Battle have been supportivdeand effective, Merrill said, and Martin will be able to bringh fresh ideas without a long learning curve. “He can reall hit the ground running, and that’s something you can’tt really get with somebody coming fromthe outside,” Merrill Having been in charge of academic and research programse for all of the UNC system, “he’x already familiar with all the programs and projects we’ve got undert way and has been very active with the development of the (nanosciencw school).
So just beinf able to come in and help us keep up the paceis Martin’s science background may also amplify the amoun t and quality of research happening at N.C. A&T’ main campus, said Vice Chancellor for Researchj N. Radhakrishnan. His arrival also comes at a key time for the which scored a recent triumph when it was selectefd to lead a prestigious Engineering Research Cente by the NationalScience Foundation. N.C.
A&T is the first historicallh black institution chosen for such a The new research cente r holds the promise of a significant expansion in sponsored research forthe school, which Radhakrishnanb hopes will cross the $50 million mark this Outside sponsorship of research at N.C. A&T has nearlyg doubled in the past six yearsto $48.5 But it will take carefulp planning to go beyond that, he said, and Martin’s engineerinhg and science background should help him chart a “It’s time for us to look and see what we have to do to increaswe our capacity for because we’re peaking on our capacity now,” Radhakrishnan said.
One way Martin can quicklyg affect that capacity is by using his scientifiv background to recruita top-level dean for the engineerinyg school to replace the retiring Josepbh Monroe. Martin held that position himself from 1989to 1994. “Wd should be able to attract a great dean simply becaused ofthe (Engineering Research Center), but we can attract a greateer dean with a chancellor with that kind of Radhakrishnan said. “If I were applying as that’s something that woul d matterto me.
” What may ultimately mattert most not just to the tech industruy but to the broadert business community and to Aggies themselves is the promiser of stability, said Ralph CEO of Southeast Fuels in Greensborl and a former chair of N.C. A&T’s boared of trustees. Any initiatives undertaken now will face the extraq challenge of the shrinkingstate budget. Sheltobn said Martin’s popularity and familiarity should energize His Aggie pedigree will also start him off with a levell of trust not automatically conferred on past he added.
That should give him the cloug to move quickly to shore up university improve student performance and retention and tackle a long list of othetrpriorities ahead. “I’d be very surprised if he turnss out to bea short-term chancellor,” Shelton “I think he knows the challenges he needws to take on will take more than a couple of yeare to solve.”