Honoring former Chancellor Larry K. Monteith

Dear NC State community,

I write to you today with the sad news that former NC State Chancellor Larry K. Monteith passed away Thursday night at his home following a long decline in health.

Appointed as NC State’s 11th chancellor in 1989, Monteith was the second NC State alumnus to be named the full-time permanent leader of the institution. He served as chancellor for nine years until 1998. During his tenure, he created a lasting legacy, most notably by significantly increasing research funding from about $170 million in his first year to almost $300 million in his last. He also improved NC State’s research libraries and established the College of Management.

Larry enrolled as an undergraduate at NC State in 1956, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering in 1960. After earning his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Duke, he returned to NC State in 1965 as an adjunct assistant professor in the College of Engineering. He did not leave until his retirement in 1998, serving as a professor, a department head, dean and chancellor. In 2015, he was inducted into NC State’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Hall of Fame.

His leadership helped pave the way for our national leadership role in public/private partnerships and research. When he took over as chancellor, there was only one building on Centennial Campus. He oversaw plans that began the transformation of the campus into what we have today, including the development of what became the Lonnie Poole Golf Course, the Dorothy and Roy Park Alumni Center and the StateView Hotel.

Above all else, Larry loved our great university and was committed to helping students succeed. He significantly changed the Office of the Provost and added the First Year College, a chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society and the Park Scholarships program. Six-year graduation rates improved from 59% to 67% during his tenure. To honor his commitment to supporting graduate education, the NC State Board of Trustees renamed the $45.5 million Engineering Graduate Research Center to the Monteith Research Center.

Larry’s contributions to our university will live on for generations to come.

Randy Woodson
Chancellor