Textiles Dean Stepping Down

Blanton Godfrey has announced that he is stepping down as dean of the College of Textiles after 14 years of service. He will remain at NC State as a member of the faculty.

“I am truly proud of the college and all that we have accomplished not just in the last 14 years but also in the previous 100 years,” he said in a message to faculty and staff. “We are widely recognized as the best college of textiles in the world.  We have record enrollment (1174 students), record graduation rates and record research expenditures. Our faculty have outstanding international and national reputations, and our staff are absolutely superb. Not only are the numbers of our students at record levels, but the quality of our students has improved every year. At a time when many of our sister textile schools and departments have almost disappeared, we have not only survived but thrived.”

Among the college’s innovative programs is the Textile Protection and Comfort Center, which was recently named one of the 10 most awesome college labs by Popular Science. The college’s Nonwovens Institute is a model for industry and academic cooperation, and has helped the state attract more than $700 million in investment dollars from nonwoven companies in the past 10 years.

The Forensic Science Institute is becoming a major new initiative in the college. And programs in Fashion and Textile Design and Fashion and Textile Management are thriving, attracting record numbers of top students to NC State. The North Carolina Textile Foundation now boasts an endowment totaling more than $40 million.

Prior to joining NC State, Godfrey served as chairman and CEO of Juran Institute, a leading international management consulting, research and training organization focused on quality management and business excellence. Prior to that, he was head of the Quality Theory and Technology Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories.

Godfrey earned both a Master of Science and a Ph.D. in statistics from Florida State University and an undergraduate degree in physics from Virginia Tech.

For 19 years he was an adjunct professor in Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, where he taught graduate courses in quality management and control. For four years he was a guest lecturer in clinical quality management at Harvard University.

Godfrey is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, the American Society for Quality, the World Academy of Productivity Sciences and the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Art, Manufacturers and Commerce. He is an elected member of Sigma Xi, the New York Academy of Science and the Fiber Society. He has published more than 200 articles and book chapters and co-authored or co-edited five books.

Godfrey’s research interests include business management and new product development, statistical graphics, quality and productivity management, strategic planning and deployment, experimental design, reliability, data analysis, and applied statistics.

Provost Warwick Arden said the university will conduct a national search to find a new dean for the college.