Dr. Stanley F. Battle, chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, will be the keynote speaker for the University’s Ronald E. McNair Luncheon Celebration. The luncheon will be held Monday, Jan. 28, from noon – 1:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union – Stallings Ballroom. The theme for the event is “Twenty-First Century Scholars, Soaring to New Heights in Research and Excellence.” The luncheon is free and open to the public.

Immediately after the luncheon, there will be a tribute march from the Memorial Union to McNair Hall, followed by a Ronald E. McNair Memorial tribute sponsored by Tau Omega Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. There will be student and faculty presentations from 3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m. McNair graduated from N.C. A&T in 1971 with a B.S. degree in physics. He received a doctor of philosophy in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1976.

McNair was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978. He first flew as a mission specialist on the STS 41-B that launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 3, 1984.

McNair died on January 28, 1986 when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. For additional information, call (336) 334-7109.