Looking Back on a Successful 2015

To NC State Faculty, Staff, and Students:

As we wrap up the semester and the year comes to a close, we have the opportunity to look back.  As we reflect, we also look forward to an exciting year ahead, as we strive for even greater success.

This year Centennial Campus celebrated its 30th Anniversary, marking three decades of achievement that benefit NC State the state of North Carolina and beyond. What started as 780 acres of land has become a model for university research parks. The campus now has nearly 70 corporate, governmental and non-profit partners, 40 buildings and $1 billion in infrastructure investment. It’s also the home of globally recognized Hunt Library – a cutting edge facility that goes beyond just storing knowledge, inspiring patrons to work together on new ideas.

May saw the full opening of the renovated Talley Student Union. The transformed space brings students together, in spaces designed to encourage exchange of ideas. It boasts a variety of dining options, additional collaboration and study spaces, a modern bookstore, as well as an updated Stewart Theatre. Student services like Student Government, the Women’s Center, Greek Life, and the LGBT Center are now in one centralized location for improved access and collaboration.

Our new University College is also paving the way for student success. It brings together Exploratory Studies, previously unaffiliated academic departments, undergraduate enhancement programs, and interdisciplinary undergraduate degrees and minors. The college creates a community for these programs with a unified approach to education and scholarship, ensuring our students and faculty have the support they need for success.

Building on the continued success of the Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program, we announced the addition of eight new interdisciplinary clusters that will find solutions to the world’s grand challenges. Ranging from Carbon Electronics to Leadership in Public Science, their work will add to the innovative research already taking place at NC State.

And NC State research is breaking records as well, with expenditures for FY14 totaling $446 million. Some major research accomplishments have been the collaborative digital humanities project and BigDIVA, which helps researchers sift through centuries of data. Two NC State scientists were named top young inventors in the MIT Technology Review’s “35 Innovators Under 35” and Popular Science’s “Brilliant 10.”

Our students are also driving change in the greater Raleigh community. This semester the on-campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity announced the largest partnership between a university and a Habitat affiliate. The new project, called Build-A-Block, aims to build 11 townhomes close to campus. Another group on campus, the Park Scholars, presented the UNC Children’s Hospital with $2 million for the naming of the Krispy Kreme Challenge Children’s Specialty Clinic. We are very proud of the work our students are doing to honor our land-grant mission of making a community impact.

Certainly, we have made great progress this year. It is my hope that we all keep working just as hard to make NC State the best it can be.

Susan and I wish you and your family a happy and safe holiday season. See you in the new year!

Sincerely,

Randy Woodson
Chancellor
NC State