UNC System President Margaret Spellings visited NC State Wednesday morning as the 12th stop on her tour of the 17 UNC campuses. The majority of her day focused learning about the STEM work happening at NC state and included tours of Hunt Library and Talley Student Union. Chancellor Randy Woodson accompanied Spellings on her tour as she took time to meet with students, faculty and staff.

Spellings started her tour at the Center for Additive Manufacturing and Logistics, also known as CAMAL. The center is home to a number of machines that create, using 3-D imaging, prosthetics for pet surgeries that take place in collaboration with the veterinary school. A process known as osseointegration, the prosthetics are infused into the bone for a more stable replacement.

“The message we’re working to leave here [at NC State] is the collaborative nature of STEM work,” Woodson told Spellings.

As Spellings rode throughout campus, Lisa Johnson, university architect, told Spellings the history of buildings such as Daniels Hall, Burlington Engineering Laboratories and Harrelson Hall.

During the tour Spellings asked, “Where does all this red brick come from?” to which Johnson responded, “North Carolina is home to some great clay soil, which is perfect for making bricks.”

From Central Campus, Spellings rode to Centennial Campus where she made a stop at Monteith Engineering Research Center which houses ASSIST, the center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies. One of NC State’s two National Science Foundation-funded engineering research centers, ASSIST is home to wearable electronics research. 

Students at the center spent time showing Spellings their work. Prototypes of wearables that could be washed over 100 times and still properly function were among the projects showcased.

From Monteith, Spellings walked to Hunt Library saying, “It’s a beautiful day on a beautiful campus.”

In Hunt Library, Spellings attempted to check out a book using the bookBot, watched students play video games in the Game Lab and learned about the naval training lab in the Teaching and Visualization Lab on the fourth floor.

After her tour of Hunt, Spellings met with local business leaders to talk about how to strengthen their connection to NC State and the greater UNC System.

During the afternoon Spellings spent time touring Reynolds Coliseum and meeting with faculty and staff.

Spellings ended her tour by sitting down with NC State student leaders from Student Government, Student Media, Interfraternity Council along with members of the administration.

The meeting focused on three questions: What makes you most proud of your institution and the system more broadly? What’s the most important issue facing higher education in North Carolina? Where do we have work to do?

Student leaders spoke about the passion NC State students have for social change, the warm community of the university and the university’s ability feel small and inclusive despite its size.

Cody Long, student senate president and junior studying political science and history, asked Spellings regarding the public upset at her appointment, “How will you be a unifying figure for the UNC System?”

“Well, for starters I’m getting about the state and having meetings like this all over the UNC System,” Spellings said. “This is the 12th institution I’ve visited and getting to every single one between now and the time school gets out. There’s no substitute for seeing and getting a feel for the heart of you all and the school and the administrators and the faculty and staff.”

Spellings went on to say that critics of her appointment should look at her three decades of experience in public policy. 

“I am a different kind of candidate,” Spellings said. “I’m not a scholar. I’m not a researcher. I’m not a teacher. That’s not what the job is … My job is to be an advocate, a communicator and a policy maker to solve some of these problems. I think I was selected because I, maybe, have the credibility with the policy makers in this state, perhaps, some of my predecessors did not have. Translation, I’m a Republican. I don’t mean to make it political in that sense but I hope to use whatever credibility and experience that I have to the benefit of this system and the students in it.”

As a final question, the Technician asked Spellings whether she prefers Eastern or Western style barbecue.

She equivocated saying neither before following up with, “Wait,” Spellings, the Texas native, said smiling. “Beef and tomato. Texas style.”