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Chancellor Biography (Abbreviated)

Dr. James L. Oblinger is the 13th chancellor at NC State University, North Carolina's flagship university for science, engineering and technology. With an annual budget of more than $1 billion and a $412 million endowment, the university has more than 7,000 full-time employees and 31,000 students.

Since arriving at NC State in 1986, he has served as provost and executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Working to ensure that NC State has the resources that allow faculty, staff, and students to excel is a priority for Oblinger. He is the most visible representative for NC State's Achieve! capital campaign that surpassed its goal of $1 billion in November 2006.

Currently, Chancellor Oblinger is the chair of the National Academy of Sciences Leadership Summit to Effect Change in Teaching and Learning and serves on the American Council on Education Commission on Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Equity.  He is also a member of the Council on Competitiveness and a member of the C. Peter Magrath Engagement Award selection committee for the National Association of State Universities and Land- Grant Colleges.  In April 2008, President George W. Bush appointed Chancellor Oblinger to serve on the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, which is responsible for making the final selection of Fulbright students, teachers and scholars, and for developing guidelines that maintain the program’s integrity in the 150 countries where the Fulbright program operates in partnership with other governments. In 2007, Under Secretary of State Karen Hughes invited him to be a part of a U.S. delegation of six college and university presidents traveling to India to promote U.S. higher education.  In 2006, he participated in the U.S. University Presidents Summit on International Education co-hosted by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. 

He earned a bachelor's degree in bacteriology from DePauw University, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Food Technology from Iowa State University.  In 2006, he received the Distinguished Achievement Award from Iowa State.  The award honors Iowa State alumni "who are nationally and/or internationally recognized for pre-eminent contributions to their profession or life's work."  In addition, he is the co-editor of "Educating the Net Generation" with Dr. Diana G. Oblinger.

Chancellor Oblinger is married to Dr. Diana G. Oblinger. They have four sons, all of whom have attended NC State.