Larry Monteith

A native of Bryson City, North Carolina, Larry Monteith spent four years as an aviation electronics technician in the US Navy, and then enrolled in North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering in 1956 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1960. He eventually joined the faculty at NC State in 1968 as an associate professor in the Solid State Micro-electronics division of the Department of Electrical Engineering.
Monteith was active in developing research, graduate programs, teaching and extension programs when appointed in 1974 as head of the department and then in 1978 as the dean of engineering. After a decade as a dean, Monteith accepted the position of interim and then chancellor in 1988 and 1989 before retiring in 1998 after thirty years of service when the efforts of faculty throughout the entire university improved undergraduate, graduate, research and programs that resulted in substantial growth and prominence for the institution.
He was also an early champion of Centennial Campus, including putting forward the initial concept as Dean—and ensuring the funding—of the Engineering Graduate Research Center which opened in 1997. This would later be renamed as a fitting tribune to his impact on engineering education as the Monteith Research Center and is at the forefront of electrical and computer engineering research.
Chancellor Monteith’s leadership in the department, college, and university were instrumental in making NC State an international leader and a powerhouse in the state.