Nash Nicks Winstead was born in Durham County

Durham County, North Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 223,314 people, 89,015 households, and 54,032 families residing in the county. The population density was 769 people per square mile . There were 95,452 housing units at an average density of 329 per square mile...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 in 1925. He was educated at North Carolina State College

North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

, where he earned a B.S. in 1948 and an M.S. in 1951. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison

University of Wisconsin–Madison

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...

 in 1953.

Winstead joined the N.C. State faculty as an assistant professor in 1953. In 1965 he was appointed director of the Institute of Biological Sciences and assistant director of agricultural experiment stations at N.C. State. He was then appointed as the university's assistant provost in 1967 and associate provost in 1973. In the following year, 1974, Winstead became provost and vice chancellor. Upon the resignation of Joab Thomas

Joab Thomas

Joab Langston Thomas was born on February 14, 1933 in Holt, Alabama. Thomas grew up in Russellville, Alabama. His father was the town's superintendent of education, his mother was a music teacher...

 in 1981, Winstead served as interim chancellor until 1982. After the appointment of Bruce Poulton

Bruce Poulton

Bruce Poulton was born in Yonkers, New York in 1928. He was educated at Rutgers University, where he received a Ph.D. in endocrinology in 1956....

, Winstead returned to the office of provost until his retirement in 1990 http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/findingaids/mc00187/.

In 1999 Winstead's manuscript "The Provost's Office North Carolina State University An Informal History 1955-1993" was published by N.C. State.