NC State Chancellor Kevin Howell Appoints CTIC Past Chair Mark Schmidt Interim Vice Chancellor

Chancellor Kevin Howell has announced two senior leadership appointments.

Mark Schmidt, Ph.D., has been appointed as interim vice chancellor for external affairs, partnerships, and economic development, effective Feb. 1. Mark has served as associate vice chancellor of partnerships since 2021, where he oversees NC State’s strategy for engaging with corporate, government, and nonprofit partners, including the 70-plus partnerships on Centennial Campus. In his 22-year career at John Deere, he led the company’s partnership strategy, as well as a range of external public and private stakeholder relationships and partnerships. Mark earned bachelor’s degrees in landscape architecture and agronomy from Purdue University and a Ph.D. in crop sciences from the University of Illinois.

Learn more about Schmidt’s work at the NC State Partnership Portal.

Howell also named Thad J. (TJ) Trantham, CPA, CIA, CISA, as chief audit officer of NC State and will join the university effective March 23. TJ most recently served as vice president of audit with J.M. Huber Corporation in Atlanta. He has held a number of other senior audit positions at Ahold Delhaize, Joann Stores and Nortel. He earned his B.S. in accounting from NC State.

Schmidt has been a longtime board member during his career and has helped lead CTIC as an officer for the past 10 years. He finishes his term as Past Chair this month and will retain his seat on the board of directors. Schmidt also serves on the 2026 Conservation in Action Tour Committee. The Conservation in Action Tour will be held June 3-4 in Raleigh.