Oblinger was born at Ashland, Ohio, in 1945 and received his B.S. in bacteriology from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, in 1967. He received an M.S. and a Ph.D, both in food technology, from Iowa State University in 1970 and 1972, respectively.
From 1972 to 1984 he served on the faculty of the University of Florida, beginning as an assistant professor of food science and human nutrition and eventually attaining the rank of full professor. During the years 1984-1986 he was associate dean and director of resident instruction in the College of Agriculture at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
In 1986 he came to North Carolina State University as associate dean and director of academic programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). In 1997 he was made dean of CALS, and in May 2003 he was appointed provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. In October 2004, the UNC Board of Governors selected Oblinger to be NCSU's thirteenth chancellor, effective January 1, 2005.
Portrait
of James L. Oblinger
Oblinger with longtime NC
Agriculture Commissioner James Graham