Chancellor Woodson’s Final Episode of Red Chair Chats 

After 14-plus years of service to NC State University, Chancellor Randy Woodson is retiring. For his final episode of Red Chair Chats, we’re turning the tables — and this time, Chancellor Woodson is answering the questions. Four people who have been integral to his NC State career step in as guest hosts for this extended episode.

Guest Hosts:

• Kelly Hook, NC State Student Body President 2010-11
• Brian Sischo, NC State University Advancement Vice Chancellor
• Susan Woodson, NC State
• Kevin Keatts, NC State Men’s Basketball Head Coach

You can hear an audio version of this conversation on the Red Chair Chats podcast, available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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Transcript

Coach Kevin Keatts: I’ll start with this one here. This is our quarterfinal game against Duke.

Chancellor Randy Woodson: Oh yeah, oh, that was a favorite.

Coach Keatts: That’s the game right before we went to play UVA. So you would have that. I want to give you, this is our semifinal game, actually, to go to the Final Four where we were south regional champs. That was against Duke, also. This is the one that we went to the Final Four. And then here, I think you’ll really like this one, because-

Chancellor Woodson: Where am I gonna put this one?

Coach Keatts: We’ve been waiting on this one for, since 1987. Yeah, and here is the championship, tournament championship. We are the champions, against Carolina, who you spoke about a little bit.

Chancellor Woodson: Just a little bit.

Coach Keatts: Just a little bit.

Chancellor Woodson: Why am I in the left chair? That’s what I want to know.

Brian Sischo: Well, do you normally sit in the left chair?

Chancellor Woodson: I’m normally right there.

Brian Sischo: Right, ’cause the way this is gonna work, see, is I’m interviewing you.

Chancellor Woodson: I know. I’m worried about that.

Brian Sischo: So we’re switching it up.

Kelly Hook: Hi, Wolfpack Nation. I’m Kelly Hook, student body president from 2010 to 2011, first one for Chancellor Woodson. And welcome to Red Chair Chats.

Chancellor Woodson: Well, Kelly, it’s great to see you.

Kelly Hook: It’s great to see you also. Are you excited to be interviewed, or does it feel a little weird being in that chair?

Chancellor Woodson: It feels very weird. And particularly, because, you know, it’s been a while. No telling what you’re gonna ask me, but I’m ready.

Kelly Hook: You’re ready.

Chancellor Woodson: I’m ready.

Kelly Hook: You’re always ready, yeah. Well, I remember in 2011, when I first met you, you, you know, you had this kind of uncanny ability to connect with people very quickly. And as a nervous student, I remember feeling immediately like, “Oh, we’re gonna be OK. He’s very chill and calm and cool.”

Chancellor Woodson: “Chill,” that’s what the young people say.

Kelly Hook: Yeah, we still say chill, or I don’t know what this generation’s saying. That was 15 years ago. But what brought you to NC State back in those days? Why choose this place?

Chancellor Woodson: Yeah, I think I flew here, but that’s not what you mean. What brought me here was the people of NC State. I mean, the more I talked to the board, the more I learned about NC State — and look, this is a university I knew a lot about because I’m a plant scientist, and some of the best in the world are here. So I’d been here before. I knew faculty here. But the more people talked to me about where NC State was at the time and their aspirations for the future, and what really brought me here was meeting the search committee and the trustees. And everybody was so passionate about NC State. And also, you know, a big part of what brought me here was the fact that this is in a really dynamic region of the country. And Raleigh is growing and, you know, the Research Triangle Park and Centennial Campus. And I just wanted to be a part of all of this.

Kelly Hook: Oh, I love that. But I want to touch on something you said at first, which is something we don’t talk nearly enough about, which is the fact that you’re a molecular biologist, plant physiology, Ph.D.

Chancellor Woodson: You nailed it.

Kelly Hook: Yeah? OK, how are NC State students like plants?

Chancellor Woodson: How are NC State-

Kelly Hook: Because plants physiology-

Chancellor Woodson: You know what-

Kelly Hook: …it’s like the structure-

Chancellor Woodson: I got it, I can nail it.

Kelly Hook: OK, sweet.

Chancellor Woodson: Well, they’re strong.

Kelly Hook: Ooh.

Chancellor Woodson: They’re resilient. They manage seasons very well.

Kelly Hook: They’re deciduous.

Chancellor Woodson: Some.

Kelly Hook: Wait, evergreen.

Chancellor Woodson: Either. An NC State student can be evergreen or deciduous.

Kelly Hook: Or deciduous, love that.

Chancellor Woodson: Depends on how they feel about the particular weather. But no, NC State students are– here’s what I love about plants and I love about NC State students. Plants, because they don’t have the ability to move, they have to stand strong and face whatever is thrown at them. And a lot of NC State students remind me of plants. I didn’t know about this question, but, you know, I think that’s a pretty good answer.

Kelly Hook: In all humility.

Coach Keatts: This is your men’s basketball coach, Kevin Keatts, and you are watching Red Chair Chats. So, this is different. I want everybody to understand this now. I was Chancellor Woodson’s first person that he talked about in this series. We met and talked. This is a full-circle moment for us.

Chancellor Woodson: Well, it sure is for me because I’m usually in charge.

Coach Keatts: What did you do before you were a chancellor, and how did you decide that you wanted to be a chancellor?

Chancellor Woodson: I can tell you that I didn’t dream of being a chancellor until I became chancellor. So that was not a goal necessarily. I went to college like everybody else does to, you know, learn, and I didn’t know what I was gonna do. And then saw all these professors that love teaching and love doing their research. And I got excited about being a professor. So everything for me has been a step. It hasn’t been a journey to become a chancellor. It’s been, do what I need to do to become a professor, be the best professor I could be, and then somebody’s watching. You know, if I could say anything to young people that said, you know, when people have dreams about becoming a chancellor, my advice to them always is do the job you have now really well and learn everything you can, and I guarantee you somebody will be watching, and then you’ll get another opportunity. So for me, it was just a progression of being a professor, being a department head, being asked to be a dean. The next thing I knew I was in pretty deep, and I was a senior vice president, and then they called me from NC State. And I hadn’t really thought about … I mean, I knew what a university president and chancellor did, but I was really content in the jobs that I had. And they called me from NC State, and I kept telling them no, because I had a good job. And they kept calling. And then I said, “OK.” This is a great place, always has been. But I saw an opportunity to, you know, make it better, and I’ve worked hard to do that.

Brian Sischo: I’m Brian Sischo, vice chancellor for University Advancement, and welcome to Red Chair Chats. You know, one of the your priorities early on, I think continues to be today, is the elevation of NC State’s brand. And so the awareness and recognition of NC State’s brand perhaps has never been stronger. But speak to how you’ve seen that grow over the time that you’ve been at NC State.

Chancellor Woodson: Well, my early observation, I knew NC State very well as a scientist because this university is world-class in plant biology, which is what I did. So I’d been here a number of times to give seminars and to visit other faculty. And so I knew NC State was a strong institution academically, but I thought it was an institution that was stronger than its reputation. And I wanted to be a part of changing that because we had all of the tools, all of the resources, people, talent, programs, students, et cetera, to be regarded as one of the premier public universities in the country. So, you know, if you’re thinking about going to some place and starting a new job, you want to go to a place where everybody’s excited about getting better. And I felt that at NC State. I felt that this was a place where there’s a lot of pride, always has been, but also a lot of interest in trying to get to the next level. You know, we continue to make progress in U.S. News & World Report rankings, and that’s a tribute to reputational gains. I’d say within North Carolina, our reputation has never been stronger. And that’s increasingly true across the country and the world. But that is still work to do. Our applications to admission have more than doubled in the last 10 years. And that’s an indication of demand too.

Brian Sischo: No question.

Kelly Hook: But go back to how Think and Do came to be, ’cause I feel like you brought it to the university.

Chancellor Woodson: Well, no, a group of us were sitting around a conference table getting ready for, and we were talking about branding and we were getting ready for the campaign. And Brad Bohlander, who had been here as the chief communication officer, we were talking about, you know, NC State is a place that wants to get things done. Sure, we’re a scholarly university, we have some of the best scientists and engineers and scholars in the field, in their field at NC State. But for us, we don’t feel like we’re complete unless something happens, unless a product is made or something is commercialized or built. And so we started playing around with a word think tank, which is, a lot of people talking about think tanks as being scholarly places that, but all they do is they write papers and they try to influence people to do something. They’re not doing things themselves. So we said we wanted to be a think and do tank. And then it became Think and Do. And it’s so ingrained now as we’ve done more market and media kind of surveys of our alumni, one thing that keeps coming back is, don’t ever get rid of that tagline because it is so reflective of a land-grant university trying to make things happen.

Susan Woodson: I’m Susan Woodson, Chancellor Woodson’s wife. I’ve been around for 14 years, and I’m finally getting on the camera. How about that? OK, first of all, we’re back home. This is where we first began, right here in this beautiful home. And I love it, and I love that it’s the Gregg Museum. What do you think about that, Randy?

Chancellor Woodson: I did love living here. And it’s a beautiful home, and it’s a beautiful space for the Gregg Museum. We felt very comfortable here, I think you would agree. It was, we lived here for 18 months or so. So it was, we made it our home. I mean, you looked through-

Susan Woodson: I loved it.

Chancellor Woodson: What’s your fondest memories of living in this house?

Susan Woodson: Oh, I don’t know. There’s so many fond ones. When students stormed the front of the house after a, I guess it was a game-

Chancellor Woodson: We beat Duke, as a matter of fact, in basketball.

Susan Woodson: Oh, OK, that was the game. Anyway, our dogs were funny out here. They had fun, they roamed. 

Chancellor Woodson: There’s a fountain out there that Mr. Beasley loved to jump in.

Susan Woodson: Oh, that’s right, Mr. Beasley loved to swim in that fountain. His little tail would just wag. That was cute.

Kelly Hook: Tell us about the tradition of your lapel pin students.

Chancellor Woodson: You know, I really don’t know where it started, but it seems to have taken hold. The tradition now is that students come up to me and tell me they like my lapel pin.

Kelly Hook: They all know the same question to ask.

Chancellor Woodson: They do.

Kelly Hook: OK, interesting.

Chancellor Woodson: Some get nervous and say, “Oh gosh, lapel pin, can I have it?” And I said, “No, that’s not the question.” But it’s, “I like your lapel pin.” And then I’m obligated to give it. But it started because this lapel pin you’re wearing and the one I’m wearing was the logo for our Think and Do the Extraordinary campaign.

Kelly Hook: Oh, I actually didn’t know that.

Chancellor Woodson: And the tradition began with us giving it to people when they made a gift to the university. So when students would tell me that they liked my lapel pin, I would give it to them and tell them what paying it forward meant for the future and tell them that, you know, I didn’t expect them to be a contributor to the university immediately, but at some point in the future, I hope they would. And then it went from there to students just wanting my lapel pin.

Kelly Hook: That’s a Chancellor Woodson-worn pin.

Chancellor Woodson: I’ve given away, well, just today three, and I don’t walk around, we talked about this earlier. I don’t walk around with a pocketful of them. In fact, I had to hide this one today, so I would have it for this interview, because I can’t walk across campus and still have my lapel pin.

Kelly Hook: Oh, no. But again, I don’t understand how your pockets are… You only carry one? And then you go back to your office and get another one.

Chancellor Woodson: Yeah, I go back to my office and I put on another one, and then if I go out again, there you go.

Brian Sischo: So clutch and shift here for a second to facilities, you know, under your watch the physical plant of NC State’s campus has grown dramatically from, you know, down the list, right? From the Gregg Museum to the Talley Student Center, to Reynolds Coliseum, to bells in the Belltower, et cetera, et cetera. We’ve seen the landscape here change dramatically under your watch. It was just a couple of weeks ago that the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to honorifically name that building Woodson Hall. How does that make you feel?

Chancellor Woodson: I mean, incredibly honored and humbled because number one, it’s an amazing building, you know. It’s in the most iconic space in main campus, you know, on the Brickyard. And it also is reflective for me of the things Provost Arden and I have worked so hard to advance, which is bringing scientists together across the university to elevate our science. And so this is a truly interdisciplinary building, Veterinary Medicine, College of Sciences, College of Ag and Life Sciences, Engineering, Textiles. So many of our colleges will be involved. And so it’s an honor for me to have my name on such a building.

Brian Sischo: Well, it’s a fitting tribute for sure, to your legacy at NC State, your legacy as a scientist. The connection to that building makes all the sense in the world.

Susan Woodson: So, since I asked you to ask me a question, you know, you’ve been interviewed enough, I want you to interview me.

Chancellor Woodson: Wow. See, she’s turning the … So tell me, what are you most proud of at NC State?

Susan Woodson: Oh, our Reds and Whites over on Centennial Campus, I love it.

Chancellor Woodson: And what led to that, dear? Why did you have that epiphany?

Susan Woodson: Oh, well during COVID I was walking through that campus, and there was nowhere to sit if you got tired. I just kind of had this idea, they need some outdoor art and came home with my epiphany. And I told you, and you went, “Well, OK, if you can get the money, you can have outdoor art.” And the other thing, I mean, there are a lot of things you’ve done, and I appreciate all of them. But the other thing is making this beautiful home into the Gregg Museum. It was the most brilliant decision you made.

Chancellor Woodson: The most brilliant decision of all the decisions.

Susan Woodson: This is the one.

Chancellor Woodson: This is the one.

Susan Woodson: Yeah.

Chancellor Woodson: Well, as I recall-

Susan Woodson: I told you you had to.

Chancellor Woodson: There was some of that. I brought home a list, and we were discussing all the options for this. And one of the options was for this to become the admissions office, you know, sort of the front door to the university. And I made the decision that I thought a better front door to the university was introducing people to the arts and design at NC State.

Susan Woodson: I think I told you that.

Chancellor Woodson: You did.

Brian Sischo: When you look at the things that you supported, it tends to be really targeted at student success, study abroad, et cetera. So why is that?

Chancellor Woodson: I mean, really, Brian, you know this, it’s a combination of both of our passions, Susan and mine, for students one, and Susan’s passion that has found its way into my life around the arts. So most of our contributions to the university have been in support of students either through Extraordinary Opportunity Scholarship, which is so phenomenally impactful. And I hope people will continue to help us with that. And the Employee Dependent’s Scholarship, and that was really because Susan and I benefited from that at my previous institution, where they were able to discount tuition for the dependents of employees. And we don’t have that authority here. The state restricts our ability to modify tuition for anyone. And so we knew that if we were going to provide that benefit to our employees, we had to do it through private philanthropy. And so we wanted to lead that effort, but we wanted others to join us. And they have for sure.

Brian Sischo: They have.

Chancellor Woodson: And so now, you know, all of our employees know that if their children can get into NC State and work toward that goal, then they’re gonna benefit with the $2,000-a-year scholarship off of tuition that hasn’t increased in nine, going on 10, years.

Brian Sischo: Right, right. Well, and it’s had an impact. Literally hundreds of students every year who are dependents of our employees benefit from that scholarship.

Chancellor Woodson: The other area that we’ve invested in is Arts NC State and, because it brings such vibrancy to campus and engages our students from all across campus.

Kelly Hook: Talk to me about just how you go about connecting with students from different walks of life and, whether they’re an arts major or an engineering major, and kind of understanding what’s important to them.

Chancellor Woodson: Well, I love the fact that, you know, as a university that has so many different disciplines, we don’t actually teach the visual and performing arts in the form of granting majors, but we teach the subjects. And so students can minor in the arts, they can participate in the arts. And that’s one of – as you know, my wife is an artist. And so we’ve always been supportive of the arts and supportive of everything our students do. And I’d love to go to every event, and I could almost every night of the week have two or three. There’s an exhibition women’s basketball game tonight. And there’s, you know, there’s things all the time. But I love the diversity of experiences that our students have. So we love to go to the theater, we love to hear our music groups perform. And then I love them to introduce themselves and to hear what they’re studying, because you’ll have a musical ensemble that’s everything from applied mathematics to humanities and social sciences. But none of them are voice majors.

Coach Keatts: But I got a couple questions, but I want to ask you, while we’re on that topic, tell me about mentors and tell me some of the best advice that any of your mentors gave you as you, you know, started your career.

Chancellor Woodson: Yeah, wow. You know, I’m old. I’ve been around a while. I’ve had a lot of mentors. I’ve had people I’ve learned from, positive and negative. I mean, you take a little bit away from everybody you’re around. But really the strongest mentor I ever had that I still attribute a lot of my career to is a dean I worked for back at that university that we don’t name a lot now after the Final Four.

Coach Keatts: That’s right.

Chancellor Woodson: But I worked for a dean that, Vic Lechtenberg was his name, and he hired me as a department head. He saw things in me, I didn’t see in myself. And, you know, gently corrected me to when I was, you know, maybe getting off path a little bit or out of kilter with what we were trying to accomplish. But just general nudging. And so I attribute a lot of what I learned about leading within a university to working with and for Vic. Ultimately, I became his boss, which is, it’s a little, he laughs about it. And we both do. But, and he always would introduce me and say, “You know, be careful who you mentor, because one day you may work for ’em.”

Brian Sischo: I think back to the first time we met, actually, which is now over 11 years ago.

Chancellor Woodson: Are you gonna go into when I was late to meet you for dinner? Is that where we’re going?

Brian Sischo: Here’s the thing, folks, Randy Woodson is never late. In fact, one of the things he’s taught me over the last 10 years is if you’re early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late. And if you’re late, don’t bother showing up. One of the things that we talked about in that first dinner was how NC State, particularly in advancement, had perhaps underperformed. That was one of maybe your first observations when you joined NC State. And we talked about the importance of building a culture of philanthropy. Talk for a minute about your view of what is a culture of philanthropy? What defines it? What are the key elements?

Chancellor Woodson: Early observation for me was that we didn’t have the level of endowment, for example, that many of our competitors did. And when you think about the ability to recruit and support the best students, to make sure you can recruit and retain the best faculty and have the kind of infrastructure on a campus that you need to be a world-class institution, I knew that that had to change. And I think for a long time, NC State, we’re well-supported by the people of North Carolina, and that continues to today. But to go from good to great, it’s the philanthropic gifts that make a difference. And that’s why we had that conversation, because I was working hard to elevate in everyone’s mind, that’s the culture of philanthropy, to really make sure that all of our alumni and friends understood that if they would invest in the institution, the institution would continue to prosper and continue to improve. And so we worked hard, and you and your team were phenomenal in really changing people’s mindset about how they could make a difference at NC State. And they have made a huge difference. And that’s a credit to you, to your team and to all the deans and everyone across the institution. And it’s one of the things I’m most proud of, is that we do have a culture of philanthropy now, and people do understand how to make a difference at the university.

Coach Keatts: So, you have been a huge supporter of athletics. We’ve talked about it. You came and talked to our group, you know, when we started school, our whole athletic department. And you’ve seen a lot of things in your years. I’m gonna ask you of the one memory and the memories that you cherish the most. One thing I would say is I’m looking down here and there’s, you know, an ACC championship and a south region Final Four championship. I’m not trying to tell you what to say. I’m just throwing that out, there are some great moments, but there is a really good moment that just happened in April, March. Just throwing that out. But it’s your answer, I just want you to know.

Chancellor Woodson: Well, you’ve done a pretty good job answering it. Honestly, over the years, there’ve been a lot of special moments. But it is really fair to say that as a community, as a university, this year has been phenomenal. And really your run in the ACC tournament, I mean, what a magical five nights, five days, five teams, all of which have won a national championship in the last 20 years. That was, it was huge for your program, huge for the university, and it was, without a doubt, the most magical thing that I’ve experienced in my life, actually, in college athletics. Now having said that, you know, we’ve got a lot to celebrate.

Coach Keatts: Yeah, and to echo, Chancellor, what you said, man, I just, I’m amazed every day. Certainly our run was magical and love it. And, you know, I thought was tremendous. But I also wanna give credit to our women’s team who went to the Final Four.

Chancellor Woodson: Brilliant coaching, too, I might add.

Coach Keatts: Yeah, brilliant coaching on both sides of it. You know, we just, Wes and I, we talked after every game. And their ladies were happy for our guys and the same thing with us. And I just, our athletic department as a whole, we cheer for one another.

Chancellor Woodson: And what’s your favorite sporting event to attend at NC State?

Susan Woodson: Oh, basketball. Sorry, other sports, basketball for sure. Women and men, it’s so much fun. And you get to know the players, you get to know their personalities out there, and you act like, you feel like you’re part of them, yeah.

Chancellor Woodson: So were you down on the court after the ACC championship for the end?

Susan Woodson: Absolutely. I was down there with you, wasn’t I?

Chancellor Woodson: Yeah, I know it. I did, but they don’t know.

Susan Woodson: Oh, well, yeah. I was down there just hooping and hollering, having a good old time.

Chancellor Woodson: You were hooping and hollering, and you couldn’t, you was so star-struck with DJ Burns.

Susan Woodson: Oh, well, isn’t everybody. He’s so nice too. He came up and hugged me. That was a big hug too.

Kelly Hook: What’s your one piece of advice for the incoming chancellor to succeed with students at NC State?

Chancellor Woodson: You know, I wouldn’t presume to give advice to the next chancellor. I will say, if you come from outside the university, and frankly, most chancellors have, I mean we’ve, in our history, I think there’s been two alumni that have been chancellors out of the 14.

Kelly Hook: Oh, wow.

Chancellor Woodson: Larry Monteith and Colonel Harrelson. So I think the most important thing is to learn the culture, ’cause we do have a culture, and it’s a wonderful culture. It’s a very people-centered culture where people that work here love the place. And you need to learn the history. You really do need to embody the history of the university, ’cause people expect you to. So you need to know the origins of NC State, how we came to be and what our aspirations were, how they’ve changed over time. And you know, it’s very important to understand the history of the place so that you can take it forward.

Coach Keatts: Before we get to a little lighter side of it, I want to give you the opportunity just to reflect a little bit, just over the years, just, you know, your time here, your lovely wife’s time here. I would love to give you a little time just to reflect on being the chancellor here at NC State.

Chancellor Woodson: Well, you know, somebody, because I’ve announced my retirement everybody that I see, you know, says, “What will you miss?” And you know, honestly, it’s the interactions with everybody that’s here, ’cause this is a special place, and it’s a special place because people love it, and they love working here, they love studying here, they love competing here if they’re athletes. And so that is not true everywhere. I mean, it is to a certain extent, but here it really, the culture of this place is really special.

Susan Woodson: What will you miss most about being chancellor?

Chancellor Woodson: The great thing about chancellor is you have a lot of constituents, you know, students, alumni, faculty, staff, et cetera. So I’ll miss all of those interactions with people that love NC State. I tell people my job is kinda like being a mayor of a city. Everybody loves the city, but they have different views about what it should do and how it should be run. And, you know, so we do a lot of alumni events. We’ve traveled all over the world for alumni events. We’re headed to Japan in the spring for events, meetings at the university, et cetera. So I’ll miss all of those interactions.

Brian Sischo: So as we wrap up here, as you head toward retirement, any special plans that you have in mind?

Chancellor Woodson: Yeah, I was reminded by a friend recently that when, remember the old coach for the Houston Oilers, remember when they were the Houston Oilers?

Brian Sischo: Bum Phillips.

Chancellor Woodson: Yeah.

Brian Sischo: Yeah. 

Chancellor Woodson: Bum was retiring, and somebody asked him, “What are you gonna do?” And he said, “Well, I’m not gonna do anything until 10 o’clock, and at 10 o’clock I’m going to continue doing nothing.” That’s not quite true for me.

Brian Sischo: Well, you’re an early riser, so yeah.

Chancellor Woodson: But there’s a reason why you call it retirement. And that’s because we’re gonna take a little more time to be with family, to travel. We’ve got four grandkids here in Raleigh. We’re not leaving Raleigh. But I’m gonna do something to stay engaged in higher education. I’m not gonna return to the faculty, but I hope there are some opportunities for me to contribute in some way. But I’m not going to look for another full-time engagement. You know, my golf game is terrible.

Brian Sischo: I’ve seen your swing. That’s why I think, you know, sticking to the guitar, you know.

Chancellor Woodson: I actually, I’m gonna learn a new instrument.

Brian Sischo: Oh?

Chancellor Woodson: And that’s one of my first goals in retirement. I’ve never played the mandolin, so I want, I know the violin a little bit. They’re tuned the same. So I’m gonna pick up a new stringed instrument and try to challenge my brain to learn, you know, the scales on a different instrument.

Brian Sischo: Yeah, have you got enough room in the house?

Chancellor Woodson: Oh yeah, mandolin’s a small instrument.

Brian Sischo: That’s true. You gotta, you got a few guitars.

Chancellor Woodson: I’ve already got one, actually. Yeah, I’ve got a few guitars. I like to keep ’em in different places. That way Susan doesn’t know exactly how many I have.

Susan Woodson: OK, what are you listening to on your music scene?

Chancellor Woodson: Right now?

Susan Woodson: Mm-hmm.

Chancellor Woodson: I’m listening, on the radio, I’m listening to Stapleton, Chris Stapleton radio, which is an interesting collection of his songs and also a lot of things that inspired him. So that’s reintroduced me to a lot of old rhythm and blues and soul music.

Susan Woodson: Well, you love some soul music.

Chancellor Woodson: I do love soul music.

Susan Woodson: OK, ask me what I’m listening to.

Chancellor Woodson: What are you listening to?

Susan Woodson: I’m actually listening to Phish.

Chancellor Woodson: No, you’re not.

Susan Woodson: Yes.

Chancellor Woodson: It’s so long.

Susan Woodson: Driving up, I was listening to Phish and I went, “Well, you know, it’s not bad.” My son loves Phish, our son loves Phish.

Chancellor Woodson: He does love Phish.

Susan Woodson: And it’s on my radio and it was on. And I was like, “Well, this is unusual for me to listen to Phish.”

Chancellor Woodson: It’s very unusual, very long, the songs can go on quite some time.

Susan Woodson: I know, but I kinda like it. You get in the rhythm.

Coach Keatts: Now I’m gonna ask you this and if I don’t know the song, then you gotta sing a verse, ’cause I did it for you. So you asked me, what would be my walkup song?

Chancellor Woodson: And you went, “Basketball”.

Coach Keatts: And I said, “Basketball” by Kurtis Blow. And you looked at me like, “What is that?” And I even sung a couple, you know, different verses of it. I was good. I went back and watched it, and actually I sung a lot better than I did. I thought I was a shower singer. But I sung a lot better than that.

Chancellor Woodson: Kevin, it’s been so long since we did that. I’d like you to repeat that, if you don’t mind.

Coach Keatts: No, no. You just remember, Chancellor, as much as you are the boss, this is my show today, just so you know. And I’m asking the questions, and what I want to know is Chancellor Woodson, he walks into PNC, he walks into the football stadium, he walks into any auditorium here at NC State, and if there was one walkup song, what would it be for you?

Chancellor Woodson: Yeah, this is not hard. First of all, it’s really important that you understand my musical taste has evolved over the years. You know, I played rock and roll guitar and played blues guitar, then the next thing I knew I’m playing bluegrass old time music, which I know you listen to all the time.

Coach Keatts: That’s right.

Chancellor Woodson: So I would say my walkup song, because of my love for Raleigh, my love for this university, we play it every time at the football game would be “Wagon Wheel.” And “Wagon Wheel,” actually, I gotta tell a little story about this, because “Wagon Wheel” is actually a song composed by Bob Dylan and The Band. Now this is going back a long time, and they didn’t have all the lyrics. And so it was just the chorus, and so Old Crow Medicine Show, which is a band out of Virginia, old time music, great instrumentalist, put the rest of the words to it, and it goes, “Headed down south to the land of the pine, thumbing my way down to North Caroline, looking ahead, hoping I see headlights. And headed to Raleigh.” Right?

Coach Keatts: Yeah. That’s good, by the way, that’s good.

Kelly Hook: Well, I know I speak for all of the alumni and students when I say that you have been an incredible chancellor, and we’re just so excited to continue knowing you over time, and thank you for everything you’ve done for the university and where you’ve taken it. And I feel like I hear about NC State on the West Coast all the time, not just because I went there, and I feel it’s in large part due to your leadership and putting us on the map in a really big way.

Chancellor Woodson: Wow.

Kelly Hook: So thank you for that.

Chancellor Woodson: Thank you, Kelly. You were a great start to my career here.

Kelly Hook: Ah, thank you.

Brian Sischo: Thank you for all you’ve done.

Chancellor Woodson: Thank you, Brian, for everything.

Brian Sischo: It’s been fun.

Chancellor Woodson: It has been fun. Susan and I feel very fortunate to be invited to join this community. And it’ll be part of us forever now.

Susan Woodson: Well, I’m proud of you.

Chancellor Woodson: Thank you, dear.

Coach Keatts: Thank you for number one, being a great sport today and letting me sit on the right side. So you guys don’t know when I came in, I sat on the right side. Chancellor was confused, because-

Chancellor Woodson: He was very confused.

Coach Keatts: … on this side of it, this is where he sits and asks the questions and-

Chancellor Woodson: That’s right.

Coach Keatts: I’m the guy asking the questions. So thank you for allowing me to ask you questions. Great information. I learned a lot of stuff, and I hope everybody else did. I’ll leave it with this. Thank you and your lovely wife for your leadership here at NC State.

Chancellor Woodson: Thank you.

Coach Keatts: And it’s been great. And, you know, we’re gonna miss you.

Kelly Hook: Thank you for watching the final episode of Red Chair Chats, and go Pack.

Brian Sischo: All right everyone, thank you, and go Pack.

Susan Woodson: Go Pack.

Chancellor Woodson: Go Pack.

Coach Keatts: Go Pack.