Chancellor Focuses on Future

As NC State wraps up its 125th anniversary year on Founders Day, just a few weeks away, the university’s focus is as much on the future as the past. And for good reason. There’s a sense of momentum on campus driving faculty, staff and students to aim higher, push harder and work smarter.

Leading the charge is Chancellor Randy Woodson, who says the can-do attitude is classic NC State.

“We are an institution that has always leaned forward, pushing ourselves to confront one more challenge, create one more innovation, solve one more problem,” Woodson writes in the introduction to his 2012 Chancellor Report.

The annual publication, which details the university’s most noteworthy achievements, gives a nod to NC State’s history and legacy. But its focus isn’t on the past century, or even the past year. It’s on today’s challenges and tomorrow’s solutions.

The report highlights a number of groundbreaking initiatives, from the visionary Hunt Library on Centennial Campus to the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund supporting promising research to the new recruitment effort designed to attract teams of superstar faculty. It covers NC State’s work in five strategic areas: health, education, energy, economic development and community service. And the report describes numerous accomplishments by students, faculty, staff and alumni over the past year.

“Even as we commemorate the past and celebrate 125 years of tradition and transformation, NC State faces forward,” Woodson says, “confident that our energy and innovation will enable us to achieve our goal: creating a better future for North Carolina, our nation and the world.”