FRONTLINE - College of Engineering - North Carolina State University

John McCarter’s vision – moving the college forward
When John T. McCarter (NE ’73) became president of the
NC State Engineering Foundation Inc. (NCSEF) Board
of Directors in 2004, his vision was to continue moving
the College of Engineering and the board forward in the
restructuring effort begun under the leadership of Robert
G. Wright, the previous president of the board. McCarter’s
job over the past two years has been to take that restructur-
ing initiative to the next level.
McCarter, who is the former president and region executive
of General Electric Power Systems Sales – Europe, brought
to the NCSEF board years of experience serving on the
boards of both charitable and professional organizations,
including the Center for the Disabled, United Cerebral
Palsy, the Association of American Chambers of Commerce
of Latin America and the Council of the Americas. His life-
long career with General Electric gave him a unique per-
spective on how organizations function, making him
a highly qualified leader during the restructuring.
As president, McCarter provided strong leadership for the
legislative initiative to secure full funding of Engineering
Building III, which is critical for the planned College of
Engineering move to Centennial Campus. McCarter has
helped redefine the purpose and goals and objectives for
the board and its five individual working committees.
Following the reorganization effort begun under the lead-
ership of Wright, McCarter has helped streamline the role
of the executive committee and appoint the new leaders
for the five working committees.
In the wake of the highly publicized investment prob-
lems of several major corporations and in the spirit of
reform and transparency among nonprofit organizations,
McCarter provided important direction in developing
a code of ethics and a conflict of interest policy in the
bylaws of the board. The board enthusiastically
embraced this effort.
A loyal alumnus, McCarter has served on the NCSEF Board
of Directors since 1993. His longtime commitment to
NC State University and the College of Engineering is evident.
During his four terms on the board, he has served on the finance
committee; the nominations, orientation and recognition com-
mittee; and the college relations committee (formerly the mar-
keting committee). He was also instrumental in the realization
of the $500,000 gift from the GE Foundation to support the
RAMP-UP program in the college.
Active at both the college and
university levels, McCarter has
served on NC State University’s
External Advisory Board for
International Programs and was
GE’s executive liaison to NC
State. In 1997 he endowed the
Mr. and Mrs. John T. McCarter
Sr. Scholarship. Named in honor
of his parents, the merit schol-
arship is awarded to students
enrolled in engineering. In 2003
he was awarded a Distinguished
Engineering Alumnus Award in
recognition of his accomplish-
ments. He is also in the process
of endowing the John T. McCarter
Jr. Enhancement Fund in nuclear engineering. The endowment
will provide much-needed unrestricted support for use by the
head of the Department of Nuclear Engineering.
John T. McCarter
“Simply put, John McCarter has been one of the key leaders in
the recent success of the foundation board of directors, both
as our president and as a major benefactor,” said Ben Hughes,
executive director of the NC State Engineering Foundation Inc.
“His vision as a generous donor is evident in his most recent gift
of vital unrestricted support to his home department.”
McCarter is a native of Philadelphia, Penn., and claims Hickory,
North Carolina, as his adopted hometown. He earned his
bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering in 1973. The College of
Engineering and the NC State Engineering Foundation are grate-
ful for McCarter’s service as president of the Board of Directors.