The Wilson College of Textiles Celebrates 125 Years of Excellence

In the fall of 1899, the first textiles courses were offered to students at the newly founded North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts — now known as NC State University. The program enrolled its first eight textiles students in 1899.

Courses, which were taught in Holladay Hall, specialized in cotton manufacturing, milling, designing twills and mill engineering.

The program celebrated its first graduate, William O. Bennett, who earned a bachelor’s degree in textile industry.

A fire destroyed the Textile Building, now Tompkins Hall, and all of the equipment inside. The following year, it was rebuilt, and local textile corporations donated machinery.

The program was established as the School of Textiles.

The School of Textiles hosted its inaugural Textile Exposition and Style Show, where students displayed their fabric designs.

The school’s first female student, Lillian Tyler Jones, graduated in 1932.

Visionary leaders established the North Carolina Textile Foundation with $500,000 in donations to ensure that a lack of financial resources would never affect the ability of the School of Textiles to hire a qualified dean and world-renowned faculty members.

Those early leaders never would have predicted the more than $50 million of support distributed to the college by the North Carolina Textile Foundation — or the approximately $85 million endowment.

A faculty member with expertise in knitting — Professor and Department Head of Textile Knitting Technology Ed Shinn — revolutionized heart health by creating the first synthetic aorta, a breakthrough in medical technology that has saved and extended the lives of millions worldwide.

Improvements in the health of cotton workers were enabled through pioneering research in the 60s that identified a rare lung disease caused by inhaling cotton particles called byssinosis.

The first Black student to attend the School of Textiles — James “Jim” Rucker — graduated in 1971. That same year, the school awarded the nation’s first doctorate in fiber and polymer science to Joel Williams. 

The first Oliver Max Gardner Award for a textiles faculty member is awarded to Professor Emeritus Solomon P. Hersh for his work on byssinosis. Sixteen years later, in 1995, he became the first faculty member from Textiles to receive the Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence.

Thanks to efforts by industry leaders on the North Carolina Textile Foundation Board of Directors as well as university and college leadership that began in the 1980s, Textiles students finally arrived on Centennial Campus in 1991. The new laboratories, studios and classrooms were packed with state-of-the-art equipment to support their hands-on learning and pioneering research.

Shortly after the move to Centennial Campus, a consortium of stakeholders focused on advancing the emerging nonwovens industry was established.

The Textile Protection and Comfort Center (TPACC), one of the most impactful centers at NC State, was established in 1994. TPACC has translated new innovations into commercial successes that not only protect but also save the lives of first responders and the military.

Established to celebrate the college’s 100th anniversary, the Centennial Scholarship Program provides merit-based scholarships to exceptional incoming students. Generous donations from the college’s vast network of supporters — including alumni, industry partners, faculty, staff and friends — through the North Carolina Textile Foundation make this vital scholarship program possible. 

Generous philanthropists Steve ’62 and Frosene Zeis made a $1.5 million gift to create student scholarships and a continuing education center: the Zeis Textiles Extension for Economic Development (ZTE). Since its inception, ZTE faculty and staff have taught over 600 courses to over 12,000 students. In turn, this has led to a total economic impact of nearly $300 million for ZTE clients and partners.

Nearly three decades since its launch, The Nonwovens Institute has supported hundreds of graduate students and dozens of faculty members. It has led to breakthroughs that have created new companies and thousands of new jobs in North Carolina and throughout the world.

The Max A. Weaver Dye Library — with approximately 100,000 unique dye samples — was donated to the college by Eastman Chemical. The library has since been used to advance forensic, medical and environmental textiles research.

Alumni Association Distinguished Undergraduate Professor Jeff Joines became the first textiles faculty member to win the Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching.

The Textile Pioneer Scholarship Program was established to support exceptional students with financial need from rural areas of North Carolina, some of whom are first-generation college attendees.

A defining moment altered the college’s history: The transformational $28 million investment was made by Fred Wilson Jr., a 1961 textiles alumnus, and his three-generation textiles alumni family. The Wilson College of Textiles became the second-named college at NC State. The Wilson family’s extraordinary gift ensures the story of the college will continue in perpetuity.

To protect medical workers on the front lines of fighting the effects of COVID-19, The Nonwovens Institute used its two research and training pilot production lines to produce face mask materials.

During the university’s second annual 24-hour fundraiser, Day of Giving, the Wilson College of Textiles and North Carolina Textile Foundation raised more than $2.6 million to support textiles students, programs, faculty, staff and research.

Hemline for Hearts, a fashion show and fundraiser collaboration between the Wilson College of Textiles and the American Heart Association, celebrated its fifth year of impact.

During NC State’s five-year Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign, the college raised more than $65 million from 3,216 supporters to continue providing life-changing scholarships, investing in research and forging collaborative partnerships.

The Wilson College of Textiles’ most spirited fans returned home to campus to cheer on the Wolfpack during the 42nd annual Textile Bowl with food, fun and football.

The brand-new W. Duke Kimbrell Flex Factory was named in honor of the late W. Duke Kimbrell ’49, a pioneering textile leader of the 20th century, to serve as a world-class center for advancing textile innovation and fostering entrepreneurial growth.

The college celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Centennial Scholarship Program. To date, the program has awarded life-changing scholarships to over 225 students, who have gone on to become impactful entrepreneurs, designers, engineers, scientists and leaders of society.

With support from generous donors, the four inaugural Textile Pioneer Scholars — Jeana Grace Bowker, Alex Hutchens, Emma Myer-Medina and Leah Reid — crossed the commencement stage and now have their eyes set on bright futures.

With funding from the National Science Foundation, the Wilson College of Textiles will serve as a core partner in a regional research effort to advance U.S. capacity for textile innovation that ensures environmental sustainability by recycling waste materials into fibers for new textiles. The new effort — called the North Carolina Textile Innovation and Sustainability Engine — will receive up to $15 million for two years and up to $160 million over 10 years.

On September 26, 2024, the Wilson College of Textiles hosted a 125th Anniversary Celebration for donors, industry partners, university leaders and key alumni to honor this momentous milestone. The celebration continued the next day with faculty, staff and students.

An immersive video was displayed on both days to vividly showcase the college’s remarkable journey — past, present and future.