North Carolina State University, College of Textiles, Office of the Dean Records 1899-2024

An internationally-known textile technologist and educator, Thomas Nelson, was the Textile School's first dean. Nelson was born in Preston, England in 1872. He came to the United States to work in mills in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia, and he taught at the Lowell Textile Institute in Lowell, Massachusetts before joining the faculty at North Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1901. Nelson became head of the textile department in 1906 and dean of the School of Textiles in 1925. He retired as dean in 1943, but he continued to serve as professor on the faculty until 1949. Nelson died in Raleigh in 1953. In 1954, the School of Textiles building was formally named Nelson Hall in his honor.

Dean Nelson's successor, Malcolm Eugene "Sandy" Campbell, improved the school's educational program and expanded textile research. Born in 1902 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Campbell graduated from New Bedford Institute of Technology in 1922 and received his B.S. from Clemson College in 1930. He was named Dean of the State College School of Textiles in 1943. In 1954, Dean Campbell directed the development of an artificial, knitted artery, invented by Professor William E. Shinn, that later helped save his life after he suffered an aneurysm in 1970. During Dean Campbell's tenure, the Textiles Library was expanded and renamed the Burlington Textiles Library. Dean Campbell retired from North Carolina State University in 1967 and died in 1978.

David Webb Chaney became Dean of the School of Textiles upon Dean Campbell's retirement in 1967. Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1915, he received an A.B. in Chemistry from Swarthmore College in 1938 and his M.S. and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania in 1942. He was a member of the Governor's Advisory Council on the State Technical Services Act, the Governor's Council for Economic Development, and the North Carolina Engineering Foundation.

As Dean of the School of Textiles of North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering, Dame Scott Hamby increased private financial support, reorganized the curriculum, and forged closer links between the textile industry and the university. He received a B.S. in textile engineering in 1936 from Auburn University. He joined the State College faculty as a professor in 1948 and in 1956 was named Burlington Industries professor and supervisor of the Quality Control Division in the School of Textiles. In 1965, he was appointed head of the department of textile technology and in 1972, director of textiles extension and continuing education.

The fifth dean, Dr. Robert A. Barnhardt succeeded Dean Hamby in 1987. Before coming to North Carolina State University, Dean Barnhardt was the executive vice president of the Institute of Textile Technology (ITT), where he was hired in 1966 as dean and director of education. He received a B.S. from Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science in 1961. At the University of Virginia, Barnhardt earned a master of education degree in 1970 and a doctorate in higher education administration in 1974. During his tenure, the college was relocated to Centennial Campus.

Dr. A. Blanton Godfrey was the chairman and CEO of Juran Institute, Inc. before his appointment as Dean of the College of Textiles at N.C. State University. He was an adjunct professor at N.C. State from 1995 to 2000. Godfrey received his bachelor's degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1963, a master's degree in statistics in 1970, and a Ph.D. in statistics in 1974 from Florida State University.

These records contain articles, brochures, budget information, clippings, correspondence, enrollment data, faculty information, financial information, lecture information, long range planning data, photographs, reports, seminar information, speeches, travel reports, research grants, scholarship information, and new facilities and construction information documenting the Office of Dean in the College of Textiles at North Carolina State University. The records also include files that document the partnerships between the college and textile-related industries. Materials range in date from 1899 to 2018.

The records of the Office of the Dean for the North Carolina State University College of Textiles are arranged in five series: 1. Chronological Files 2. Industry Files 3. Audiovisual Materials 4. Web Content 5. Unprocessed Materials

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[Identification of item], North Carolina State University, College of Textiles, Office of the Dean Records, UA 130.001, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC

Transferred by North Carolina State University, College of Textiles, Office of the Dean.

Processed by Liz Bell, Cathy Dorin-Black, Flora Blackley, 2011 May; Finding aid written by Liz Bell, Cathy Dorin-Black, Flora Blackley, 2011 May; finding aid updated by Gevorg Vardanyan, 2023 July; Finding aid updated by Ella Mayfield, 2026 January.