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Diversity and Inclusion

Black History Through the Years at Poole College

A look at pivotal moments in Poole College of Management and NC State history featuring our Black identifying faculty and staff, students and community.

Black History Month Article

Each February, NC State and Poole College of Management come together to reflect on the achievements of Black Americans and the role of African Americans in U.S. history. 

“The NC State African American Cultural Center staff set the theme and tone of the month for campus,” said Tayah Butler, director of diversity, equity and inclusion. “My team and I get around a table and imagine how to bring the theme to life for our Poole community. It’s one of the most fun creative processes we get to do each year.”

Explore Black History at NC State and Poole College

  • The Consolidated University of North Carolina makes the decision that African American students are eligible for admission into graduate programs

  • The first four African American undergraduates enrolled at NC State

  • Poole College alumni records list Genevieve Sims JD as the first Black woman to earn a Bachelor of Arts in economics 

  • Poole College alumnus Dereck Whittenburg leads the NC State men’s basketball team to the NCAA Division 1 championship

  • Alvin Headon, professor emeritus, begins his 30-year career as an economics faculty member

  • Lorraine Wright joins Poole College as an accounting faculty member

  • The Poole College Chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) is established by founder Dr. Loraine Wright. The motto and standard of NABA is “Lifting As We Climb”

  • The Black Business Student Association (BBSA) is established. The purpose of BBSA is to serve and recruit minority students into NC State’s Poole College

  • Tamah Morant, teaching professor of economics, is named associate dean of undergraduate programs 17 years after joining Poole in 1999

  • Fay Cobb Payton, professor of information technology and business analytics, is selected as program director in the Division of Computer and Network Systems at the National Science Foundation and is inducted into the PhD Project Hall of Fame

  • Poole alumni Emerson Fullwood, Therence Pickett and Marshall Anthony receive the Black Alumni Society Legacy Award

  • Poole College establishes the Diversity and Inclusion Hub

  • Full-time Jenkins MBA Program is ranked No. 1 in diversity by Bloomberg

Find events on campus to celebrate Black History Month through the NC State African American Cultural Center.

See more Black History Month Celebrations on our Instagram channels: