Title: Professor and Founding Head of the Department of Art and Design
Company: North Carolina (NC) State University
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Chandra D. Cox, professor and founding head of the Department of Art and Design at North Carolina State University, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements, and leadership in higher education and the arts.
With nearly four and a half decades of experience, Prof. Cox has built a successful career in higher education, specializing in design process and studio foundations; drawing, color theory, visual language and digital media. She served as the first head of the Department of Art and Design, a position held from 2001 to 2018, and has been a professor in the College of Design at NC State University since 1981.
Prof. Cox’s noted accomplishments include program and curriculum development, leading the establishment of the Bachelor of Art and Design and Master of Art and Design degrees for the renamed Department of Media Arts, Design and Technology, formally known as Department of Art and Design. She takes great pride in founding the “Design Studies” program, a theory-history based study of design that compliments and informs applied design efforts with critical research.
In addition to her academic success, Prof. Cox has practiced public art for over 20 years, having designed artwork for two light rail stations in collaboration with the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) in Charlotte, North Carolina, and from 2021 to 2025 led the commemorative street design for the City of Raleigh, honoring the historic Oberlin Village. She has traveled extensively for academic purposes, supporting the departments’ biennial study abroad program in Ghana for 21 years, as well a founding role in establishing NC State University’s Prague Institute. Her other creative efforts include a portfolio of paintings, drawings and book illustrations, such as “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy” in 2018, “ Houghton Mifflin Social Studies| North Carolina” in 2009 and “Christmas Makes Me Think” in 2008.
Laying a solid educational foundation, Prof. Cox’s earned a Bachelor of Arts in art and art history from Hampton Institute, and a Master of Fine Arts from The Ohio State University. Given her impressive undertakings, she was honored by NC State University with three Outstanding Teacher Awards, the Undergraduate Alumni Distinguished Professor Award and was the Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching nominee, as well as an artist-in-residence fellowship at the Headlands Center for the Arts in California. She credits her accomplishments to her parents, who were her role models and instilled a deep-rooted commitment to teaching and service, as her family has a history spanning more than 3 generations of educators and service providers. In the coming years, she plans to retire gradually, during which time she envisions dedicating more time to creative pursuits, particularly in public art, and exploring new avenues of expression.
For more information, please visit:
The West Harlem Art Fund – Chandra D. Cox
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