M&F Bank Chairman receives
the Watauga Medal

March 9, 2020

M&F Bank Chairman receives the Watauga Medal

NC State will award its highest nonacademic honor to alumni S. Frank Culberson, Charles A. Flink II and James A. Stewart. The Watauga Medal, given annually since 1975, recognizes extraordinary service and commitment to the university.

Stewart is a principal in the firm of Stewart, Martin & McCoy LLC. He founded Stewart Investment Properties Inc. in 1997, specializing in commercial real estate brokerage and investments. Before he became active in real estate, Stewart worked for IBM.

He also served for four years on active duty as an officer in the U.S. Army.

Stewart is a member of the NC State Board of Visitors and a longtime member and former chair of the Chancellor’s African American Community Advisory Council. He serves on the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Advisory Board and Park Scholarships Selection Committee. Stewart also is a member of the Wallace Carl Riddick Lifetime Giving Society and the R. Stanhope Pullen Society.

He established the James A. Stewart Scholarship Endowment to provide need-based scholarships for undergraduates from underrepresented populations, and he has made substantial investments in the A.M. Witherspoon Graduate Scholarship Endowment, the College of Engineering, student-athlete scholarships and athletics facilities, and many other efforts across campus. Stewart was inducted into the university’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Hall of Fame in 2014 and is a lifetime member of the NC State Alumni Association.

Stewart earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1970 and an MBA in 2009, both from NC State. He also holds the Certified Commercial Investment Member designation from the National Association of Realtors.