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.):  Student Body Moderator/President, highest academic graduate
• 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: Algebra and John Philip Sousa Band awards, top five graduate

Work and Life:

• NCSU CHASS 2010 Staff Award for Excellence winner (one awardee per year)
• NCSU CHASS 2009 Staff Award for Excellence nominee
• NCSU CHASS 2014 Staff Award for Excellence nominee
• NCSU CHASS 2023 Staff Award for Excellence nominee
  CHASS = College of Humanities and Social Sciences @ NC State University
• Research, public appearances, written articles, and travel throughout NC on a research grant with the National Endowment for the Humanities
• International work and life in Israel and the Philippines: music directing, arranging, and performing; administration; conference center and camp counselor work; teaching; 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 and English origins. According to Ancestry.com, my genetic ancestry is generally, in order of precedence: England & NW Europe (+60%), Scotland, Germanic Europe (including Switzerland and parts of Scandinavia), Netherlands, 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 and foremost scholar of the English Renaissance, and the first Regius Professor of Greek and Philosophy at Cambridge University. He was later appointed Secretary of State by King Edward VI. He was imprisoned by Queen Mary in the Tower of London twice. He apparently died from personal distress and illness upon 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.
• His grandson, Sir Hatton Cheeke (also knighted), is listed on the Second Charter of Virginia under King James I (1609).
• Mottistone Manor on the Isle of Wight is a well-known Elizabethan-era manor as a British National Trust property with lovely gardens. It was a Cheek(e) family residence before and during the reign of Elizabeth I and later had visits from Queen Victoria, who had a summer royal residence nearby. This was a film location of the family home of the horse portrayed in the WWI movie, War Horse (Steven Spielberg, 2011).
• An American Cheek family became prominent by establishing Maxwell House Coffee in Nashville, TN.  There have also been ministers, politicians, educators, and an Olympic gold medalist. The first Cheek ancestor immigrated to America in the early-mid 1600s.
• My Grogan line originates from Scotland-Ireland and immigrated to America in the mid-1700s, earlier than most Scotch-Irish.  My maternal Moore lines are Scotch-Irish and English.  Ancestors filled medical, ministerial, civil, and educational roles.
• Both 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)