North Carolina State University, Office of the Provost, Office of Diversity and African American Affairs Records 1956-2011

In 1990 North Carolina State University created the position of Coordinator of African American Affairs within the Office of the Provost. Dr. Augustus M. "Gus" Witherspoon became the first to fill the position. His responsibilities included helping in the interview process of all associate professors, reviewing and making recommendations for faculty promotion and tenure, coordinating college dean reviews, and serving as liaison between faculty bodies and administration on academic matters. The Coordinator of African American Affairs was also responsible for the University Recruitment and Retention Programs and the programmatic activities of the African American Cultural Center, which was established in 1991 through Dr. Witherspoon's efforts. The position also had a liaison role with African-American faculty and staff organizations and African American student organizations.

Following Dr. Witherspoon's untimely death in 1994, Drs. William C. Grant, Rupert W. Nacoste, and Jose A. Picart have followed in his footsteps. By 2000 the position had become the Vice Provost for Diversity and African American Affairs.

By 2007, the Vice Provost for Diversity and African American Affairs had the primary responsibility of forging a shared vision concerning the recruitment, retention, and graduation of a diverse student body. The position was a focal point in the Office of the Provost for advocating, assisting, encouraging, evaluating, and monitoring African American undergraduate and graduate student success. The Vice Provost facilitated communication about diversity as being at the core of the University's academic mission. In July of 2011, the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity was formed as part of the University's strategic realignment. The African American Cultural Center became a part of this unit.

Additional information on the early history of African American affairs at North Carolina State University can be found in the book, "The Provost's Office, North Carolina State University: an Informal History, 1955-1993".

This collection is comprised of correspondence, surveys, and reports related to discrimination and African American issues. It also includes information on the African American Cultural Center. This office of African American Affairs worked in cooperation with the Affirmative Action Office. The materials date from 1956 to 2011, but the bulk of the materials are from 1980 to 1997.

This collection contains information on the creation of the African American Cultural Center, including the architectural plans for Witherspoon Hall, where the Center is currently located. Dr. M. Iyailu Moses was appointed the first Director of the African American Cultural Center in 1992. Also included in this collection are two plays from the Black Repertory Theatre as well as general information on the group. The Black Repertory Theatre was created to increase African American students' involvement in theater at North Carolina State University. This collection also contains a program from the 1990 Brotherhood Banquet which honored Dr. Christine Darden, one of the researchers featured in the book, "Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race".

This collection is arranged chronologically.

The nature of the NC State University Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NC State University Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which North Carolina State University assumes no responsibility.

[Identification of item], North Carolina State University, Office of the Provost, Office of Diversity and African American Affairs Records, UA 005.014, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC

Related Materials

• Office for Equal Opportunity and Equity Records (UA 005.009)
• African American Cultural Center Records (UA 005.072)

Transferred by the Office of Diversity and African American Affairs.

Processed and encoded by Todd Kosmerick, 2007; Finding aid updated by Todd Kosmerick, May 2008; Reprocessed by Sarah Take, Molly Pruett, Angelique Marrero, Wykila Chavis, and Laura Lethers, Feb. 2019; Finding aid updated by Clara Wilson, Feb. 2019