Moving Forward Thanks to the Connect NC Bond

Dear NC State Community:

The citizens of North Carolina showed their strong support for higher education yesterday when two-thirds of voters supported the passage of the Connect NC Bond.

The $2-billion-dollar bond referendum will positively impact the lives of North Carolinians across our state for generations through important investments in education, agriculture, parks and recreation, public safety and infrastructure improvements. About two-thirds of the bond will go directly to fund improvements in higher education.

At NC State, the bond’s impact will result in educating more of the most sought-after graduates in the nation and investing in two of the state’s top economic drivers, engineering and agriculture. The bond will specifically support two crucial projects at our university – the Engineering Oval and the Plant Sciences Initiative building.

Construction of the Engineering Oval on Centennial Campus will enhance NC State’s ability to continue attracting and supporting the world’s best engineering students and faculty, and put more high-skilled engineers into North Carolina’s economy. The Plant Sciences building, also on Centennial Campus, will better enable NC State to educate students for and support an $80 billion agribusiness industry that employs 17% of North Carolina’s workforce, including 2000 plant science researchers at biotech companies in the Triangle.

It’s important to note that the bond won’t completely cover these two projects. NC State has committed to raise about $145 million in private funds to cover the balance – a process that is well underway.

These two facilities are critical to the future of this great university and I am grateful to the Governor and our legislators for their overwhelming support. They understand the tremendous long-term return on investment that these and all of the projects in the Connect NC Bond will have on North Carolina.

I also want to thank you, NC State’s faculty, students and staff, along with all of the citizens of North Carolina, for sharing in and overwhelmingly supporting this critical effort that will lead our university and our state to even greater success.

Sincerely,

Randy Woodson

Chancellor

NC State