Chancellor Randy Woodson was elected head of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ governing body Tuesday. 

Woodson said his appointment will give N.C. State a voice in Washington. 

“We’re at the table leading all the other universities nationally,” Woodson said. “Being chair of the board affords N.C. State a seat at the table.”

Woodson became chairman of the APLU’s Board of Directors Tuesday. The board oversees the entire APLU body. As chairman, Woodson will work closely with its president and its 17 councils and commissions.  

Chancellors and presidents of 223 public universities from across the country comprise the ALPU’s membership.

The APLU is the voice for higher public education in the country, according to Woodson.   

 “It’s one of the strongest voices for higher education to congress and to the president, and it is very involved in policy related to higher education,” Woodson said. 

The organization’s purpose is to represent the interests of its members.

 “APLU is the voice trying to direct and encourage the White House and congress to do things appropriate in support of higher education,” Woodson said.

Woodson said he will strengthen the national reputation of N.C. State through his leadership role. He also said it will allow him to talk about N.C. State on a broader stage and lead other public universities in addressing policy issues of higher education. 

Public universities face three “really huge” policy issues, such as affordability, accessibility and innovation deficit, according to Woodson. 

Woodson said keeping college education affordable and accessible has become a problem due to the national increase of tuition costs. 

Innovation deficit, which hits N.C. State the hardest, is a result of decreased government funding for public universities due to sequestration of the federal budget, Woodson said.

Woodson said the reduction is one of the biggest problems for the University because it means limited funding for research.

“Research is critically important to a place like N.C. State because it does so much work in engineering, agriculture and life sciences…a lot of that work is funded by the federal government,” Woodson said. 

Woodson will also head APLU’s Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic Prosperity, a post Woodson said he holds because the University is a front-runner in innovation.  

 “N.C. State is one of the best across the country, in terms of innovation, we produce a lot of new companies out of the research that goes on here,” Woodson said.

Woodson said he will have to make several trips to Washington throughout the year to meet with APLU members and government leaders. 

Woodson was in Washington Tuesday to meet with five other APLU members and President Barack Obama’s top economic advisor, Gene B. Sperling, to discuss economic policy issues. 

“Leading an organization that represents higher education and a commission that is focused on economic development and innovation is natural for N.C. State,” Woodson said.  

APLU is the oldest organization representing public universities in the country it has members in all 50 states, including several in N.C.