N.C. A&T State University’s College of Engineering (COE) announced that eight of its undergraduate degree programs have been reaccredited by the Accreditation Commission of ABET.

The ABET accreditation included the COE’s architectural engineering, biological engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, industrial and systems engineering and mechanical engineering programs.

Dr. Robin Coger, dean of the College of Engineering, acknowledged the sustained efforts of the college faculty and administrators in making this reaccreditation possible.

“This result was achieved through a true team effort due to actions of our constituents within the College, combined with those of our many partners across the greater University. We are all pleased that these eight programs have once again been granted ABET accreditation,” said Coger.

ABET is a nationally recognized accreditor of college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology. Accreditation is a voluntary, peer-review process that requires programs to undergo comprehensive, periodic evaluations. The evaluations, conducted by teams of volunteer professionals working in industry, government, academe, and private practice within the ABET disciplines, focus on program curricula, faculty, facilities, institutional support, and other important areas. One of the key elements of ABET accreditation is the requirement that programs continuously improve the quality of education provided. As part of this continuous improvement requirement, programs set specific, measurable goals for their students and graduates, assess their success at reaching those goals, and improve their programs based on the results of their assessment.

For more information about North Carolina A&T State University's College of Engineering degree programs, visit www.coe.ncat.edu.

A multi-media display that captures North Carolina A&T’s history in space was unveiled, Wednesday, Aug. 27, in the Academic Classroom Building.

The left side of the exhibition honors alumnus and astronaut Ronald E. McNair ’71, who served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984. The second side features the A&T Student Space Shuttle Program where students designed, built and tested a mini laboratory chosen for the Space Shuttle Endeavour mission 10 years later.

“On one level, this display is about A&T’s two historic flights in space, and on another level—a more personal level—this display is about dreams,” said Dr. Stuart Ahrens, director of the A&T Student Space Shuttle Program from 1979–1994.

Ahrens, who spoke at the unveiling, is a former physics professor of 26 years and friend of the late McNair. With the help of various faculty advisors (including the university’s current chancellor, Dr. Harold L. Martin Sr.) and McNair’s mentorship, Ahrens led more than 100 students in the interdisciplinary space shuttle program for 15 years.

“Dr. McNair loved A&T. He returned as often as possible to interact with the students and he never forgot A&T, even when he was in orbit around the earth traveling at 18,000 miles per hour,” Ahrens shared.

Chancellor Emeritus Edward B. Fort also shared words in honor of McNair, who frequently came back to campus as a NASA representative. After McNair’s death aboard the Challenger in 1986, students continued the program in his legacy. The program ended in 1994.

The university still works on projects with NASA. Currently, A&T students are working on a joint project with students from Purdue University to design and build an experiment in capillary fluid dynamics to be operated on the International Space Station.

The interactive display is located in the lobby of the Academic Classroom Building.

The Division of Information Technology (DoIT) wants input from employees of North Carolina A&T State University on whether to continue using Lotus Notes or to migrate to a newer, more easily supported email system.

Electronic mail (email) is an important method of communication for university employees. As the university’s administrative and instructional systems evolve, so should its email system.

The new Ellucian Portal, a higher education portal that simplifies information exchange for faculty, staff and students by giving them a single, virtual doorway, will be introduced to the campus next year. By drawing on information housed in a common database, Ellucian enables users to do whatever their role requires, from posting course assignments and mid-term test results to checking account balances and grade status.

Currently, IBM’s Lotus Notes is the N.C. A&T’s official software for email, calendars and contacts. However, Lotus Notes is not as easily supported by the new portal as are other options such as Outlook 365 and Google Docs.

Before introducing the new portal to the campus, DoIT will host two town hall forums to solicit input from A&T employees. The forums are planned for Friday, Aug. 29, 11 a.m.–noon, and Friday, Sept. 26, at 3–4 p.m. Both will take place in Proctor Hall, room 160.

Those employees who want to participate in the forums should RSVP via email to Cecilia A. Worthington, cecilia@ncat.edu, and indicate which session they plan to attend. In lieu of attending the forums, employees may also state their preferences/input via the same email address.

In October, DoIT will announce the plans for electronic mail based on the preference of staff and faculty.