A Year to Remember
2021 In Review
What a remarkable year we experienced at North Carolina A&T in 2021, from bringing home Olympic gold to charting new records in enrollment, sponsored research and fundraising. Peruse the gallery below -- hover over each image to read text, and advance the gallery with directional buttons below the images. You'll see some of the most significant stories that unfolded, milestones we surpassed and standards we set as America's leading historically Black university and one of two doctoral, land grant, research universities serving North Carolina.
January 2021
Corning Inc. announces a $5.5 million gift to help prepare students for careers in STEM and Education. The company introduces its first class of Corning Scholars at A&T later in the year. Corning is one of scores of major corporations partnering with A&T in 2021.
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February 2021
Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr., center, gives UNC System President Peter Hans a tour of the A&T CoVID-19 Vaccination Clinic. A&T is the first university to launch a standing CoVID clinic in the state, a move that helped it establish some of N.C.'s highest vaccination rates.
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March 2021
In a flurry of springtime success, A&T won its first national championship in any event in men's indoor track, the MEAC title in women's basketball and a berth in the NCAA national bowling tourney. A&T added to the excitement in August with its Big South Conference debut.
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April 2021
Junior Rachel Richards becomes A&T's first Goldwater Scholar. The honor is one of many that A&T students earned in the spring -- Fulbright and Rangel fellowships, multiple major journalism internships, top engineering honors, a Target design competition and more.
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April 2021
The College of Health and Human Sciences is named for alumni John R. and Kathy R. Hairston, in recognition of their longstanding support of the college. It becomes A&T's second named college, joining the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics.
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May 2021
A&T's first in-person commencement since 2019 takes place at Truist Stadium, where Mrs. Jacqueline Jackson and recording industry legend Clarence Avent are awarded honorary doctorates. The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Mrs. Jackson's children and extended family join in the celebration in Greensboro.
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July 2021
Trevor Stewart becomes the first Aggie Olympic medalist, and the first HBCU student to earn a medal in the Summer Olympics in Beijing. Teammate Randolph Ross, Jr., joins him one week later as the two take home gold medals for the 4x400 Men's Relay.
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July 2021
A&T faculty researchers record a strong growth year in sponsored research, landing 30% more in contracts and grants than in FY2020, a total of $78.2 million. Among the projects: Development of autonomous "air taxis" and creation of a DNA-based digital storage system.
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August 2021
A&T unveils $21 million in student success investments for the 2021-22 school year, including free textbooks, the AMP-UP tech initiative with Apple and grants for housing, dining and emergencies. The intent: A&T students won't fall behind because of CoVID.
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August 2021
A&T logs a record year in philanthropy -- $93.8 million in gifts to the university, coming on the heels of the conclusion of the Campaign for North Carolina A&T, which raised $181.4 million. That was the most ever for a public HBCU, a sum that grew A&T's endowment to more than $153 million.
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October 2021
A&T launches a partnership with Cornell in sustainable materials research, one of multiple high-profile collaborations disclosed in 2021. Others include a $25-million study with N.C. State and NSF on phosphorous and a $20-million study with Duke, MIT and others on artificial intelligence.
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December 2021
U.S. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan '98 addresses the fall graduating class, members of which raise to approximately 3,000 the number of grads from A&T in 2021. Regan is the first Black man and HBCU alumnus to lead the EPA; with V.P. Kamala Harris, he is one the first two HBCU grads to serve at the presidential Cabinet level.
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