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The applause was unexpected.<\/p>\n
As vice president for IBM\u2019s Chief Data Office, senior state executive for IBM in North Carolina and senior location executive for Research Triangle Park, Timothy Humphrey \u201996 is accustomed to public speaking. And as an involved alumnus, he has stood in front of an audience of NC State students numerous times to share his expertise.<\/p>\n
But at the fall 2019 welcome address for the College of Engineering, when Humphrey reached the part of his talk where he mentioned being inducted to the college\u2019s\u00a0Electrical and Computer Engineering Hall of Fame<\/a>, the first-year students caught him off guard.<\/p>\n \u201cNormally when I say that, I just keep going, but this time, everybody started clapping. It was really touching \u2014 a very, very proud moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A proud moment on an already meaningful day \u2014Humphrey felt like he was going back in time. \u201cI was imagining if I was in their shoes,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve benefited from great advice through the years. So to be able to give that back to 1,700 engineering freshmen, it was powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n Volunteering his time through such talks is just one way Humphrey chooses to give back to NC State. He participates in panel discussions about careers and delivered the College of Engineering\u2019s fall commencement address.<\/p>\n He sums up his passion for higher education succinctly: \u201cGreat institutions teach you how to learn.\u201d And Humphrey is a model for constant learning, having gained experience in fields like artificial intelligence, software development testing, battery technology and analytics.<\/p>\n But before he leveraged his education into a successful career, before his hall of fame induction, before he entered the College of Engineering after being encouraged toward that career path by a guidance counselor \u2014 before all that, as a high school student in Fayetteville, Humphrey already saw himself at NC State.<\/p>\n The summer before his junior year, he had the opportunity to attend a camp run by Wilson College of Textiles. The week at camp sold him on NC State \u2014 in fact, he liked it so much, he considered majoring in textiles before his lifelong fascination with electricity brought him back to engineering.<\/p>\n Humphrey was able to fund his NC State education through a combination of work and partial scholarships \u2014 one of which was the Minority Engineering Scholarship.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the work they do at the College of Engineering to encourage minorities to pursue careers in engineering is amazing. Working with middle and high school students, then working with the students in the engineering program is game-changing,\u201d he said. \u201cI always say that getting a job in a STEM field is, for some people, generational wealth. It really can change generations.\u201d<\/p>\n Humphrey\u2019s experiences, as well as his desire to give back and create additional opportunities for students with backgrounds similar to his, helped motivate his recent decision to create the Timothy L. Humphrey Women and Minority Engineering Initiatives Award. The endowment will support the work of\u00a0Women and Minority Engineering Programs<\/a>\u00a0(WMEP) at the College of Engineering.<\/p>\n Through summer programs, recruitment weekends, workshops and roundtables, WMEP assists in recruiting, retaining and mentoring students traditionally underrepresented at the College of Engineering. The program is run by Dr. Laura Bottomley and Angelitha Daniel.<\/p>\n \u201cTim\u2019s support allows us to continue exposing students of all ages to the field of engineering. It is also important to create a campus culture that allows all students to thrive. Having a partner like Tim is crucial to us reaching our program goals in terms of enabling a dynamic and inclusive student body that can solve the most pressing problems of our society,\u201d Daniel and Bottomley said in a shared statement.<\/p>\n Diversity is one of the pillars he focuses on in his work at IBM, a company he describes as having a longstanding history of firsts when it comes to inclusion. \u201cI like to do anything I can to move the ball forward,\u201d he said. \u201cSo that\u2019s an additional motivating factor around focusing on diversity at NC State.\u201d<\/p>\n