Dr. John Stewart

The Dr. Franklin D. Hart Scholarship Endowment was established in 1997 by Dr. John Stewart. The endowment was established to provide scholarships to undergraduate students in Engineering or Wood Products Technology.

Franklin D. Hart earned his BS degree in 1959, his MS in 1961, and his Ph.D. in 1965 in mechanical engineering from NC State. Before receiving his doctorate, he was appointed assistant professor of mechanical engineering at NC State. He established the Center for Acoustical Studies with funding from NASA and served as its founding director. He was promoted to full professor in 1970. His research in acoustics brought renown in academe, and his team’s development of the “Gorilla Goal” brought recognition among basketball fans.
In 1980, he was promoted to associate dean of engineering research programs and was named the vice chancellor for research at NC State in 1983. In 1990, he was named interim provost and became provost in 1991. Six years later he was honored with NC State University’s Holladay Medal for Excellence. An important figure in the history of NC State, he co-chaired the team that originated the concept for the Engineering Graduate Research Center. In 1993, he was named president and CEO of MCNC. His leadership guided the center from an academic world to that of private industry. He retired in 1998 and received the distinguished alumnus award in 1999.

Dr. Hart was instrumental in the process to build the first two engineering buildings and Hunt library. He served on the library committee and when the issue of more space was raised, he suggested a library be built on Centennial Campus and named for Governor James B. Hunt.

Dr. Hart and his wife Ms. Jean Lee enjoy attending the annual Celebration Luncheon to meet their scholarship recipient and are providing additional funds to build the endowment and extend the impact of their scholarship.

Dr. Hart has two daughters, Kimberly H. Butler and Janine H. Brugh, two granddaughters, one grandson, and three great-grandsons. His wife, Ms. Jean Lee, has one son, Dr. Joseph W. Lee, two granddaughters and two grandsons. Dr. Lee received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from NC State in 1981 before entering medical school at UNC Chapel Hill.