James L. Oblinger
Dr. James L. Oblinger is the 13th Chancellor of North Carolina State University. Since coming to NC State in 1986, he has served as provost and executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and as dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Prior to his leadership roles at NC State, he served as a professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Florida, and associate dean and director of resident instruction at the University of Missouri-Columbia’s College of Agriculture. Oblinger received his Bachelor of Arts from DePauw University in bacteriology and his Master of Science and doctorate in food technology from Iowa State University.
In addition to being a member of the Council on Competitiveness, Oblinger is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association for Higher Education, the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology and the Institute of Food Technologists, where he also is a fellow. Currently, 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 president of the Academic Consortium 21, an international consortium of prestigious research universities interested in global trends in higher education and the role of the university in the 21st century society, and is a member of the board of directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.