Stewart B. Fulbright, the first dean of the School of Business at North Carolina Central University in Durham, died on New Year’s Day after a brief illness. He was 92 years old.
A native of Springfield, Missouri, Fulbright was a 1941 graduate of Lincoln University of Missouri where he majored in French. In 1943 he enlisted with the Army Air Corps and was trained as one of the Tuskegee Airmen.
At the end of the war, Dr. Fulbright enrolled in the MBA program at the University of Chicago. After completing his degree in 1947, he joined the faculty of what is now North Carolina Central University. He later earned a Ph.D. in business administration at Ohio State University.
Dr. Fulbright was chair of the undergraduate commerce department at NCCU. When the department became the School of Business in 1972, Professor Fulbright was named the first dean. He served in that role for four years and retired from teaching in 1982, earning the title of professor emeritus.