GREENSBORO – As a result of quality academic programs and the success of graduates moving into great jobs and graduate schools, applications to North Carolina A&T State University have grown dramatically for six or seven years.

And in the fall of 2014, A&T emerged as that nation’s largest Historically Black College or University (HBCU).¹ Enrollment is about 12,000 students this year, Chancellor Harold Martin says in the accompanying video, with a target of 14,000-15,000 over the next five to six years.

The distinction certainly builds enthusiasm and helps A&T’s image, Martin says – but there’s more to A&T than being the biggest.

“What’s more important to me – it’s not just simply being the largest HBCU,” Martin says. “… It’s impact.  It is producing graduates who are well-prepared and well-prepared for the marketplace.”

The largest HBCU should produce large numbers of graduates in fields of critical demand, he says: STEM majors, teachers, nurses, accountants, agricultural scientists, as well as graduates in the arts, humanities and social sciences.

“‘Quality over quantity’ is a phrase I use often,” Martin says.

Beryl McEwen, the school’s provost, says A&T didn’t aspire to be the biggest.

“To be quite honest with you, many of us were surprised when we were announced as the largest HBCU, because it was not exactly a goal that we had set for ourselves,” McEwen says.

“Here at A&T, it’s always quality first. We want to grow, but growth will never mean compromising our quality,” she says, and the academic profile of A&T students grows every year.

“Our commitment is to not compromise on quality – not quality going in, not quality going out.”

---

¹ https://www.ncat.edu/news/news-archive/2014/11/largest-hbcu.html.