Welcome Back
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:
Welcome to the new academic year!
As we begin the new semester, the NC State community is building on tremendous momentum and success.
Our students continue to impress with their strong intellect, tireless work ethic, and desire to make a positive impact on the world. Over the last year, NC State students received a number of very prestigious national scholarships including the Udall, Truman, Marshall, and Goldwater. NC State students were also named Astronaut and Fulbright scholars. Our 4-year graduation rates continue to improve and have climbed 15 percentage points since implementing our strategic plan.
Our outstanding NC State faculty members, who continually engage students in hands-on research and create opportunities for educational excellence, also received numerous awards and fellowships. Highlights include a Sloan Research Fellowship, an Olney Medal, a Heinz Award, and an O. Max Gardner Award among other prestigious honors.
NC State continues to grow as a hub of innovative research, economic development, and diversity. Over the last year, NC State strengthened ties with existing industry partners like IBM, making us the first university in North America with a Q-hub. Our entrepreneurial ecosystem sparked the creation of 15 new startups that do life-changing work and boost our local economy. The university also ranked in the top 100 of Forbes’ list of Best Employers for Diversity in America.
We’ve also experienced another remarkable year for philanthropy as our alumni and friends continue to show their support of NC State. The Goodnight Scholars program, for example, increased opportunities for North Carolina students by establishing a transfer student scholarship. Thanks to impressive public and private support, we broke ground on Fitts-Woolard Hall this year, named in honor of two alumni who made the largest private gift for a building in the university’s history. NC State also received a generous gift to facilitate the completion of our iconic Memorial Belltower.
We are proud to educate more North Carolinians than any other university in the state, and this year NC State is welcoming our largest incoming class in the university’s history.
These examples just begin to highlight NC State’s recent success and our nearly unlimited potential for the future, and hold outstanding promise for our community of students, faculty, alumni, and industry partners. I am confident our best is yet to come.
I hope you are all as proud as I am to be part of this incredible university community – to be part of the Pack. I’m excited to work alongside you to see how we will Think and Do the Extraordinary in the year ahead.
Go Pack!
Randy Woodson
Chancellor