N.C. A&T Alumni Times - September 24

Since 1978, one of the essentials of attending or visiting North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is to attend at least one game, career fair, orientation, concert, probate, or any public event in the Corbett Health, Physical Education and Recreation Center. The tall white building on the corner of Benbow Road and John W. Mitchell Drive was fittingly named for Ellis Franklin Corbett (1910 – 1971). Corbett, fondly remembered as “Mr. A. and T.”, promoted our university tirelessly as a reporter, media relations director, and alumni secretary for over 40 years.

Young Ellis grew up on Dudley Street in Greensboro, North Carolina and dreamed of attending the nearby A. and T. College of North Carolina. After enrolling in the late 1920s, he pledged the Mu Psi chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in 1929, and was a charter member of the Gamma Tau Honorary Scholarship Fraternity in 1930. For the first 35 years the “A&T Register,” the college newspaper was edited and published entirely by faculty. Corbett had completed a course in journalism and was appointed as the earliest known student editor-in-chief of the newspaper around 1929. Known to friends as “Chief”, Corbett and his co-editors set new standards for the A&T Register as a more engaging publication for students. Features included college news, sports, poetry, and even a humor column called “Kollege Kracks.”

“Chief” Corbett graduated in the historic class of 1931 with fraternity brother Dr. Fredrick A. Williams (Williams Cafeteria), John “Dean Mac” McLaughlin, a future dean of agriculture, and J. Neil Armstrong, a future leader of the A&T Summer School.

In September of 1931, Corbett was hired as a field representative for the “Norfolk Journal and Guide,” a weekly black-owned newspaper in Norfolk, Virginia. Two years later he became their circulation manager and significantly raised their subscription to its peak in the turbulent years of World War II. He also contributed numerous stories about A&T public events and sports. Today his articles for the “Journal and Guide” are an invaluable source for A&T stories missing from the A&T Register collections and Ayantee yearbooks.

Corbett returned to A&T in 1951 as our new public relations director. He would promote A&T under the administration of four presidents, during the civil rights era, and in nearly every media format of his lifetime. Chancellor Lewis C. Dowdy once called him “an advisor and maker of college presidents.” He earned a sterling reputation as the “newspaper’s scribe” and was fondly remembered for his dedication and jolly demeanor.

Press releases and photographs by Corbett placed A&T in papers around the country. Corbett won several national awards for outstanding work in college public relations including “College Publicity Man of the Year” in 1962 by the 100 Percent Wrong Club of Atlanta. He was active with the American College Public Relations Committee, the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Tournament Committee. For the latter two groups, he had a tremendous role in bringing the CIAA conference tournaments to Greensboro.

His commitment to the growth of A&T continued as executive secretary of the A. and T. College General Alumni Association. Corbett believed that the future of A&T relied heavily on generous giving by alumni instead of the traditional $5.00 “alumni dues.” He famously increased annual giving by alumni from $7,000 annually to over $50,000.

A dedicated Omega, Corbett rose to be the organization’s national director of public relations, editor of their official publication “The Oracle” from 1948 - 1963, and representative for the Third District (Virginia, Washington, D.C., & Maryland). His service of 38 years peaked when he was installed as the 27th Grand Basileus of the 25,000-member Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in 1967. Around that same year, he was named associate director of planning and development at A&T, working alongside his fraternity brother Director F. A. Williams.

In 1970, a 300 guest banquet was hosted in Greensboro in honor of Ellis F. Corbett. It was the culmination of 40 years of service to North Carolina A&T State University. He was still working on new plans for A&T when he fell ill the following year and passed away at the age of 61.

In his memory, were the Ellis F. Corbett Scholarship Fund, a memorial bust on the campus dedicated by Omega Psi Phi and countless other tributes. The Corbett Sports Center is an especially endearing tribute to the man who loved Aggie Athletics, Omega Psi Phi, and the promotion and betterment of North Carolina A&T.

Information for this article comes from the Ellis F. Corbett files in the Faculty/Staff Vertical Files Collection at the F. D. Bluford Library Special Collections and article by, or about, Corbett from historic newspapers. Current A&T faculty, staff and students have access to hundreds of articles by Corbett via the Black Studies Center database. Digital NC provides free access to historically black publications like the Future Outlook and The Carolina Times, which also have stories written by E. F. Corbett.

Only three editions of the “A&T Register” from Corbett’s time as student editor-in-chief, 1929-1931, are known to exist; please check your attic! For more information about A&T History please contact the F. D. Bluford Library Archives and Special Collections at libraryarchives@ncat.edu.