Mark Schmidt

Bio

Dr. Mark Schmidt serves as the interim vice chancellor for external affairs, partnerships, and economic development. In this position, Schmidt leads the division responsible for coordinating the university’s external relationships with local, state, and federal entities; developing partnerships with industry, nonprofit, and governmental entities; and advancing economic development investments to benefit the university and state of North Carolina. He also leads partnerships with responsibility for the university’s strategy for engaging with industry, government, and nonprofit partners including the 70 plus partners on Centennial Campus.

Prior to joining NC State in 2020, Schmidt completed a 23-year career at John Deere where he directed the company’s global university relations strategy, served as an external affairs leader focused on science and technology policy, and helped lead the development of the enterprise sustainability strategy. During his tenure at John Deere, he developed several product and technology innovations resulting in commercial product success. He holds twelve U.S. patents relating to intelligent systems.

Schmidt’s current and past external leadership roles include serving as University Industry Demonstration Partnership (UIDP) board chair, chair of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA) Research Intelligence Work Group (RIWG), Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) board chair, North Carolina Arboretum board director, Research Triangle Regional Partnership (RTRP) board director, and NC State’s representative to Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, among other roles. He also co-founded the Business Sustainability Roundtable as a public-private initiative focused on community sustainability through business leadership.

Dr. Schmidt holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Crop Science from the University of Illinois, as well as a Master of Science in Agronomy and Bachelors of Science in Agronomy and Landscape Architecture from Purdue University. He is an Eagle Scout.