W Bruce Cheek

Bio

Birth:

• Born in Greensboro, NC, of William Ollie Cheek, Jr. and Helen Rachel Grogan Cheek.  Surviving immediate family member is Pamela Faye Cheek, sister.

Education and Special Training:

• Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Master’s Degree (M.Div.): highest academic graduate, Student Body Moderator/President
• Campbell University: Bachelor of Music, Summa Cum Laude
• NCSU Computer Science, postgraduate study, GPA=3.933 (A=4.0)
• NCSU Pathways Leadership Training graduate
• NCSU Advisor Development Institute certificate
• High School: top five graduate, Algebra and John Philip Sousa Band awards.

Work and Life:

• NCSU CHASS 2010 SPA (staff) Award for Excellence winner (one awardee per year)
  NCSU CHASS 2023 SHRA (staff) Award for Excellence nominee
  NCSU CHASS 2014 SPA Award for Excellence nominee
  NCSU CHASS 2009 SPA Award for Excellence nominee
  CHASS = College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Research, public appearances, written articles, and travel throughout NC on a research grant with the National Endowment for the Humanities
• International work in Israel and the Philippines: teaching; music direction, arranging, and performance; administration; conference center and camp counselor work; and United Nations refugee work
• Former professional musician, performer, and speaker.

Family History:

• The surnames Cheek (father-paternal) and Bateman (father-maternal) are of English origin. The surnames Grogan (mother-paternal) and Moore (mother-maternal) are of Scotch-Irish origin. According to Ancestry.com, my genetic ancestry is: England & NW Europe (61%), Scotland (25%), Germanic Europe (7%), Wales (4%), Ireland (2%), Finland (1%), and trace smatterings of others.
• I am a descendant of Sir John Cheke/Cheeke (1514-1557), who Henry VIII knighted and appointed as the primary tutor to heir Prince Edward and daughters, Mary and Elizabeth I. He was a statesman, foremost scholar of the English Renaissance, and the first Regius Professor of Greek and Philosphy at Cambridge University. He was later appointed Secretary of State by King Edward VI. Under Queen Mary, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London twice. He apparently died as a result of personal distress and illness after being forced to recant Protestantism in favor of Roman Catholicism (or face being publicly burned at the stake). Shakespeare and Milton (Sonnet 11) both pay homage to him as his name became synonymous with the highest quality and model of education and learning.
• Mottistone Manor on the Isle of Wight is well-known today as an Elizabethan-era Manor and is a British National Trust property with lovely gardens. It was a Cheek(e) family residence before and during Elizabeth I and later had visits from Queen Victoria, who had a summer royal residence nearby. Mottistone Manor was the film location of the family home for the horse portrayed in the WWI movie, War Horse (Steven Spielberg, 2011).
• An American Cheek family became prominent by beginning and establishing Maxwell House Coffee in Nashville, TN.  There have also been ministers, politicians, educators, and an Olympic gold medalist. The first Cheek ancestry immigrated to America in the early-mid 1600s.
• My Grogan line originates from Ireland and immigrated to America in the mid 1700s, earlier than most Irish.  Within that line, the Moore line is Scotch-Irish.  Ancestors filled medical, ministerial, civil, and educational fields.
• Both the Cheek and Grogan lines have at least one recognized American Revolutionary War veteran.

Responsibilities

NC State – College of Humanities & Social Sciences – Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS)/Interdisciplinary Affairs and Partnerships (IAP):

• Undergraduate Student Services Specialist (all IDS undergraduate programs)
• Course Scheduling Officer (all IDS undergraduate & graduate programs)
• Graduation Clearance Officer (all IDS undergraduate & graduate programs)