Super Bowl-Winning Coach Bill Cowher to Deliver Fall Commencement Address at NC State
William (Bill) L. Cowher, Super Bowl-winning coach and North Carolina State University alumnus, will deliver NC State’s commencement address on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the RBC Center in Raleigh. The commencement ceremony will begin at 9 a.m.
During the ceremony, Chancellor James Oblinger will confer honorary degrees on behalf of NC State to two distinguished recipients: Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and a leader in the effort to assist minority and low-income students in academic achievement, and Dr. Carl E. Wieman, a Nobel Prize-winning professor of physics at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Cowher, who currently serves as an analyst with CBS Sports for the network’s “The NFL Today” show, led the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2005 to their first Super Bowl title in 26 years. Cowher was the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL, spending 15 years with the Steelers before stepping down following the 2006 season. His term with the Steelers ranks ninth in NFL history for longest head coaching service with one team. In 1995, at age 38, he became the youngest head coach to lead his team to the Super Bowl when the Steelers played the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX.
Cowher’s Steelers teams earned 10 post-season berths, captured eight division titles, advanced to six AFC Championship games, made two Super Bowl appearances and won one Super Bowl title. He led the Steelers to post-season appearances in each of his first six seasons, tying an NFL record originally set by legendary Cleveland Browns head coach Paul Brown. Cowher is one of only six coaches in NFL history to claim at least eight division titles. During his 15 seasons, the Steelers tied with the New England Patriots for the league’s most division titles and posted the NFL’s best overall record in the regular season.
At NC State, Cowher was a starting linebacker, team captain and team most valuable player in his senior year. He graduated from NC State with a Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1979.
Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski – Hrabowski has served as president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), since 1992. At UMBC, Hrabowski has elevated research and entrepreneurialism on campus and helped lift minority and low-income students, especially African-American math and science majors, to the highest levels of academic achievement. Hrabowski has authored numerous articles and co-authored two books, “Beating the Odds” and “Overcoming the Odds,” focusing on parenting and high-achieving African-American men and women in science. Both books are used by universities, school systems and community groups around the country. Hrabowski serves as a consultant to the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Academies, and universities and school systems nationally. He will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree.
Dr. Carl E. Wieman – Wieman is director of the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative and professor of physics at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He maintains a part-time appointment at the University of Colorado to lead the science education initiative, which actively collaborates with the initiative at UBC on efforts to achieve department-wide sustainable change in undergraduate science education. Wieman’s research focuses on a variety of areas in atomic physics and laser spectroscopy. His research has received many awards, including the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics. Wieman is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and chairs the Academy Board on Science. He is also a member of the U.S. National Academy of Education. He will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree.
For more information about NC State’s fall 2008 commencement activities, visit www.ncsu.edu/registrar/graduation/index.html.
