History

The North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic (A&M) Arts, known as North Carolina State University (NCSU) since 1965, opened its doors to students in October 1889.  Historically, NCSU’s relationship with the armed forces has been intimate with at least three university Presidents serving in the Armed Forces. Alexander Quarles Holladay, the first President of the North Carolina College of A&M served as a Colonel in the Confederate Army.  The second President of NCSU, George T. Winston, was a naval officer and a graduate of the United States Naval Academy.  The ninth President, John Caldwell also served as an officer in the United States Navy during World War II.

NCSU is a land grant institution established under the Morrill Act of 1862.  In 1894, North Carolina College of A&M established Military Science and welcomed the first Professor of Military Science. North Carolina College of A&M required all male students to participate in Military Science until the policy changed in 1965.  On 10 November 1964, the Faculty Senate decided that ROTC participation would be voluntary.  The university hosts Army, Air Force, and Navy/Marine ROTC programs which are located in the William Neal Reynolds Coliseum in the heart of the main campus.

The NCSU Army ROTC program was officially formed in the fall of 1917.  After the United States declared war on Germany, students flushed with patriotism accepted the Army ROTC unit with enthusiasm.  Eventually, over half of the junior and senior class joined military service.  From 1917 to 1942, more than 14,600 students received military training in the NCSU Army ROTC program.  During the past 90 years, the NCSU’s Army ROTC program has produced over 2,500 Army officers.  Twenty-four of NCSU’s Army ROTC graduates reached the rank of Brigadier General or higher.