Lewis C. Dowdy

Lewis Carnegie Dowdy (1 September 1917 – 17 December 2000) was an American educator and the sixth president, and first chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Early life Lewis C. Dowdy was one of 14 children born to William Wallace Dowdy and Alice Shiver Dowdy, on September 1, 1917, in Eastover, South Carolina. Dowdy was educated in the public schools of Eastover, and later graduated cum laude from Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina. He married his wife Elizabeth Smith on June 26, 1943, in Terre Haute, Indiana, where she was a native. Dowdy would later earn a Master's degree from Indiana State College in 1949, and a doctorate of education degree from Indiana University Bloomington in 1965.

Career In 1951, Dowdy began his career at the Negro Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina in Greensboro, North Carolina as an instructor of education and director of student teaching; he would later go on to serve as an assistant professor of education, dean of the School of Education and General Studies, and dean of Instruction before ascending to the position as president of the college.

The Dowdy administration also brought significant growth in research funding, grants, and financial support from the private sector. Under Dowdy's urging, A&T developed the university relations office which gained more than $8 million in external support from corporations, foundations and the school's national alumni association. As a result of the consolidation, NC A&T became a constituent institution and president Dowdy was reappointed as the college's first chancellor.

On October 31, 1980, Dr. Dowdy resigned from his position as chancellor, effectively ending a 21-year career of serving North Carolina A&T. and the Lewis and Elizabeth Dowdy endowed scholarship bears the name of him and his wife.