Larry King Monteith (August 17, 1933 – November 2, 2023) was an American electrical engineer and academic leader in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. He retired from

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

following a distinguished career of leadership positions, culminating with service as the university's eleventh chancellor from 1989 to 1998. In 1960, Monteith graduated from

with a B.S. in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. He later earned a

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, also in electrical engineering. After serving as a research scientist at the Solid State Laboratory of the

Research Triangle Institute Research Triangle Institute, operating as RTI International, is a nonprofit organization headquartered in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, USA. RTI provides research and technical services. It was founded in 1958 with $500,000 in fu ...

, Monteith joined the faculty of the NC State Department of Electrical Engineering in 1968. He was later appointed Department Head (1974) and Dean of Engineering (1978). As dean, Monteith led the engineering faculty to a top 30 ranking among all engineering schools in the nation and to a major increase in members of the National Academy of Engineering. Following the resignation of then-chancellor

Bruce Poulton Bruce Poulton (March 7, 1927 – June 19, 2015) was the tenth chancellor of North Carolina State University from 1982 to 1989. Poulton was born in Yonkers, New York. He was educated at Rutgers University, where he received a Ph.D. in endocrinology ...

in 1989, Monteith was named interim chancellor, a position that he was thereafter named to on a permanent basis. He inherited an intercollegiate sports program in turmoil that had been recently penalized by the NCAA. By the time he completed his service as chancellor, the program was stable and graduation rates of student-athletes had increased dramatically. In spite of difficult statewide budgetary conditions throughout his chancellorship, Monteith presided over a strong period of growth and advancement at NC State. The university's research campus, the Centennial Campus, grew from a single building housing the university's College of Textiles to a multi-tenant campus housing academic, corporate, and government researchers. Plans were developed then for a public golf course and executive center, as well as a new alumni building. Under Monteith's leadership, the office of the provost (chief academic officer) underwent major changes, resulting in significant new responsibilities and power. Academic honor programs were also enhanced, with the addition of a First Year College, a chapter of the

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

honor society, and the Park Scholarship program, a prestigious full-expense merit scholarship, similar to the Morehead Scholarship at sister institution

UNC Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795 ...

. He led the transformation of the university library, dramatically improving its ranking among research libraries from next to last place to 32nd the year he left. In addition, the College of Management was established during his tenure and NC State also became the first Atlantic Coast Conference member to become accredited by the NCAA. On his retirement, Monteith was succeeded as chancellor of NC State by

Marye Anne Fox Marye Anne Payne Fox (9 December 1947 – 9 May 2021) was an American physical organic chemist and university administrator. She was the first female chief executive of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. In April 2004, Fo ...

. The Engineering Graduate Research Center on Centennial Campus was renamed Monteith Research Center in his honor by the NC State Board of Trustees. NC State Librarie
Special Collections Research Center
currently houses Larry King Monteith's manuscript collection. Monteith died on November 2, 2023, at the age of 90.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monteith, Larry K. 1933 births 2023 deaths Duke University Pratt School of Engineering alumni Chancellors of North Carolina State University North Carolina State University alumni Academics from North Carolina Engineers from North Carolina