Gloster Elected to Council of Graduate Schools Board

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Feb. 5, 2026) – Clay Gloster Jr., Ph.D., dean of The Graduate College at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, has been elected to  serve a one-year term on the 2026 Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) Board of Directors. He is the only graduate dean from a historically Black college or university (HBCU) on the board.

For six decades, CGS has been the national voice for the graduate education community. CGS is the only national organization in the United States that is dedicated solely to the advancement of graduate education and research.

CGS accomplishes its mission through advocacy in the policy arena, innovative research, and the development and dissemination of best practices. CGS also acts as a convening authority, organizing major events that bring together graduate deans and other stakeholders to discuss and act on a broad range of issues affecting graduate education today.

Gloster joined N.C. A&T in 2010 as professor and chair of the Department of Computer Systems and Technology in what is now known as the College of Science and Technology (CoST). After serving as CoST’s associate dean for six years, he became interim dean of The Graduate College in 2018, and began serving in the role permanently in 2020. He has led the enhancement of the university’s graduate-level studies, ensuring A&T’s established degree and certificate programs remain competitive and nationally recognized.

A proud graduate of two HBCUs, Gloster earned his B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering at A&T, an M.Div. from Howard University and a Ph.D. in computer engineering from North Carolina State University. His research focuses on reconfigurable computing and he has made substantial contributions to research in technology-based curriculum development and distance education.

Gloster previously served on the CGS Advisory Council for Advocacy and Public Policy, Executive Board of the Council of Southern Graduate Schools (member), Executive Board of the Council of Historically Black Graduate Schools (president), the North Carolina Council of Graduate Schools (president) and advisory committee for the NSF Innovations in Graduate Education hub. 

He was recently named as one of 25 higher ed influencers to follow in 2026 by EdTech magazine for being among 35 individual and organizational mentors to receive the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring in 2025 and for his research initiatives expanding opportunities for students to pursue careers in defense agencies, corporations, and in the state, local and federal government.

ABET, an accrediting body for STEM disciplines, also recognized Gloster’s mentorship focus as one who “is looking out for the underdog” in 2023.