Newswise — Dr. Harold L. Martin, Sr., senior vice president for academic affairs of the 16-campus University of North Carolina and former chancellor of Winston-Salem State University will be the keynote speaker for WSSU's 115th Spring Commencement at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday, May 5.
A native of Winston-Salem, Martin was named to his current post in July 2006 by the UNC Board of Governors on the recommendation of UNC President Erskine Bowles. As the UNC's top academic officer, Martin is responsible for leading the University's educational and research missions. In that role, he advises the president and Board of Governors on academic issues and policies of University-wide importance and oversees academic planning and budgeting, student affairs, sponsored programs and research, faculty support, international programs, and strategy development and analysis.
Martin also works closely with campus chancellors and chief academic officers on University-wide academic initiatives and helps focus diverse campus missions to meet University and state goals and objectives.
In January of 2000, Martin was tapped by then UNC President Molly Corbett Broad to provide stable, interim leadership for Winston-Salem State University following the resignation of Chancellor Alvin Schexnider. Sixteen months later, he was elected to the position on a permanent basis by the Board of Governors. During Martin's six-year tenure at WSSU, enrollment nearly doubled (from 2,796 to 5,556), freshman SAT scores climbed by nearly 70 points, and the campus underwent a dramatic physical transformation made possible in part by a $45-million investment from the 2000 Higher Education Bond Program.
At WSSU, Martin is also credited with forging stronger working relationships with internal and external constituencies, raising the quality and breadth of academic degree programs, launching programs to improve student retention and graduation rates, upgrading the campus' technology infrastructure, and improving administrative operations and efficiencies. In the fall of 2004, the campus also initiated a $35-million capital fund-raising campaign, the largest in WSSU's history.
Martin holds undergraduate and master's degrees in electrical engineering from North Carolina A&T State University and a doctorate in the field from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He joined the A&T faculty in 1980 and was named chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering in 1985 after a nine-month stint as acting chairman. Four years later, he was named dean of the College of Engineering, a post he held until being named vice chancellor for academic affairs in 1994. From 1987 to 1994, he also served as an adjunct faculty member in North Carolina State University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Specializing in the field of computer engineering, Martin has written and lectured widely on computer architecture and increasing the representation of underrepresented minorities and women in engineering. Named 2001 Man of the Year by the Winston- Salem Chronicle, Martin also received Duke Power's 2005 Citizen and Service Award and McDonald's 2005 African American Achievement Award for Education. The NC A&T Alumni Association has recognized Martin as Alumnus of the Year (1976), while Virginia Tech has honored him with its Distinguished Graduate Alumni Award (2004) and the Bradley Department of Electrical Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni Award (1998).
Martin has served on numerous boards including the Winston-Salem Foundation, the SACS Commission on Colleges and Schools, the Central Intercollegiate Athletics Conference, Microelectronics Center of NC, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, the Forsyth County United Way, the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, the Winston-Salem Symphony, Idealliance, the Winston-Salem Alliance, and the Piedmont Triad Partnership.
He has previously, served on advisory committees of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, chaired the board of directors of the Southern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering, and served on the boards of trustees of the NC School of Science and Mathematics, the NC Board of Science and Technology, and the NC Biotechnology Center Advisory Board.
Martin is married to Davida Martin, county attorney for Forsyth County. They have two sons: Harold, Jr., a law student at Yale Law School; and Walter, a student at Hampton University.
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