Dean Emeritus Quiester Craig Passes Away at 88

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Dec. 13, 2024) – The legendary dean who led the School of Business and Economics at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University for an unprecedented 40 years, shepherding it to extraordinary heights, has passed away. Dean Emeritus Quiester Craig, mentor to generations of Aggie business leaders including Willie A. Deese, the retired Merck senior executive for whom the college has since been named, died Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. He was 88.

Craig joined North Carolina A&T in 1972 as a professor of accounting and dean of the School of Business and Economics. He earned business administration degrees from Morehouse College (bachelor’s) and Atlanta University (MBA) before completing his doctoral degree in accounting from the University of Missouri-Columbia. At that time, he was only the 10^th African American in the United States to hold a Ph.D. in accounting.

“Quiester Craig’s iconic leadership in business education at North Carolina A&T set a standard for the entire nation,” said Chancellor James R. Martin II. “Those who chart contemporary success are often said to have stood on the shoulders of giants. Dr. Craig was one of those giants, and North Carolina A&T would not be where it is today without his incredible accomplishments and legacy.”

Craig understood that the business school’s reputation greatly impacted the value of its alumni’s degrees, so he dedicated himself to building and maintaining the school’s sterling reputation. “We aren’t worth a dime if they aren’t successful,” he said. “You’re only as good as your last graduates and what they are doing. What we want to have is a flock of students who will carry on the legacy of the School of Business and Economics.”

Under Craig’s guidance, A&T in 1979 became the nation’s first historically Black college or university to earn accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) — the gold standard for business schools internationally. The AACSB vote was unanimous. He followed that in 1986 by leading the school to earn AACSB’s separate accreditation for accounting programs, elevating A&T to an elite group of universities globally that hold both credentials.

As the decades rolled past, Craig developed faculty, staff and students prepared to compete at the highest levels by involving prominent alumni in cutting-edge programming and oversight. For example, he launched the college’s Closing Bell lecture series, which created a platform that continues to bring prominent Aggies to campus to share their real-world successes with the community. He launched the college’s Executive Advisory Council that engages top business leaders in student development, curriculum updates and faculty opportunities. He unrelentingly stood for quality and performance at the highest standards for students, faculty and staff and transformed the school into the No. 1 HBCU Graduate Business School as ranked by U.S. News & World Report.

Though Craig retired in June 2013, his four decades of leadership put the school on a clear path toward important new milestones.

The school’s main building, which was constructed under his leadership in 2003-04, was named in his honor at his retirement. Three years later, the school was elevated to a college. Three years after that, the college was named for Deese, whose close friendship with Craig continued throughout his career, with Craig providing advice and counsel along the way.

In the 2019-20 academic year, the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics broke into U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate School Top 100 rankings for its online and in-person MBA programs and has remained there. That would not have been possible without the solid foundation built by Craig. His leadership, vision and commitment to excellence for long-term, sustainable success is his legacy to the Aggie Family.

“We lost an icon yesterday, and we will miss him dearly,” said Deese. “He touched thousands of lives and changed the trajectory of business careers for countless Aggies and their families. Quiester Craig was simply a great American educator.”

Always self-effacing and quick to credit the work of others, Craig declared the school’s success the product of a team effort. Others, however, disagreed, staging a three-day celebration at his retirement that honored the man for his wisdom, mentorship, commitment and endless good works. 

“I’ve been fortunate to have been a part of a team that has been a part of quite a few achievements,” Craig said at the time. “I didn’t do this by myself. Everybody was on this train.

“I grew up in an era where the opportunities available were a fantasy – they didn’t exist. Now we have transitioned to a time where preparation can be the foundation to get something started.”