A Tradition of Service

Service is stitched into the fabric of NC State. As a land-grant institution, the university’s very establishment was an act of service, making higher education available to all with the talent and drive to seek it, regardless of financial status.

The spirit of service present at NC State’s creation still animates the university today. Earlier this year, the White House named the university a presidential award winner as part of the 2012 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

“Service is part of NC State’s DNA,” Chancellor Randy Woodson said when the White House award was announced. “From alternative service break projects to our new First Year Student Leadership program, community service and service-learning play a transformational role in NC State’s culture and are university strategic priorities.”

Through coursework and involvement with organizations like the Center for Student Leadership, Ethics and Public Service, NC State students help those in need on campus, in the state, across the nation and around the world.

Faculty and staff match those efforts with their own outreach work and generosity. The latter quality is particularly evident at this time of year, when NC State employees participate in the annual State Employees Combined Campaign. Entering the campaign’s last day on Nov. 12, NC State employees had surpassed their $600,000 goal, setting a campus record by raising more than $612,000.

The campaign, a combined effort of state employees across North Carolina, raises money for more than 1,000 charities statewide. Beneficiaries range from small, independent, local agencies to local chapters of state and national organizations.