Chancellor Randy Woodson gave his annual fall “State of the University” address Monday to a crowd consisting mainly of NC State faculty, professors and administration at Stewart Theatre in Talley Student Union. 

He announced that the university will begin its biggest fundraising campaign this fall to fund an employee dependence tuition scholarship. It will give a minimum of $2,000 to children of full-time NC State faculty and staff for a maximum of four years, nearly a 25 percent tuition discount. 

“It’s a critical benefit for people who give so much to this public university,” Woodson said. “We need to support their families in attending NC State.” 

Woodson said this is a priority for he and his wife. The scholarship fund will begin in the fall of 2016. All of the funds will come from philanthropy donations. 

A few weeks ago, the General Assembly released that NC State wil`l receive $392,256,502 this year on behalf of state funds. Last year, the state appropriated about $484 million for academic affairs. Woodson said this year’s budget is good, but “not great.” 

“We know that the year ahead will not be without challenges,” Woodson said. 

The upside of the budget is the allowance of a bond referendum vote that would fund various construction projects on Centennial campus. Woodson encouraged those in the crowd to spread the word about the importance of voting in March to pass the effort. 

Despite the “not great” budget, Woodson highlighted the struggles NC State has overcome within the past few months. Woodson remained positive and spoke of the importance of endowment and philanthropy funds to better students’ overall experience at NC State. 

“I have this confidence because alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends have broken every fundraising effort we have established in the past five years,” Woodson said. 

With the endowment funds, the University plans to expand and improve various aspects on campus, including academic and research efforts, construction projects and diversity. 

Academic and research efforts: 

With the Chancellor’s faculty excellence program, NC State has added eight new research clusters to expand interdisciplinary research. Now, there are 28 research clusters, which, according to Woodson, makes NC State a national leader. 

NC State also aims to expand doctoral funding, a priority of Provost Warwick Arden. 

With the Provost Professional Experience Program, the university aims to place students in internships that will provide meaningful work experience, Woodson said. 

Woodson also said he hopes to centralize the application process for switching majors. 

“We have too many students leaving NC State that are academically qualified but simply can’t find their academic home,” Woodson said. 

Dean Jeff Braden said the College of Humanities and Social Sciences has been successful in finding the funding to support the college’s work and research. 

“We’re doing work that’s generating new knowledge, bringing it into the classroom and bringing the classroom into the community,” Braden said. 

Diversity:

The White House has asked NC State to help lead the conversation in giving rural students the opportunity to higher education, according to Woodson. He explained that while NC State is diverse, it’s still inadequate. 

“We need to work hard to reflect the diversity in the state and in the country,” Woodson said. “We need to provide students an opportunity to learn in a diverse and rich environment which will be reflected into the world they enter in.” 

Associate Vice Provost of International Affairs, Michael J. Bustle said he agreed with the importance of diversity on campus. Within his office and the Global Training Initiative, he ensures that students who don’t have the chance to study abroad still have an international experience. 

“We need to help not just students, but employees and legislatures who grew up in a very closed, provincial, different place,” Bustle said.  “They weren’t exposed to people who thought differently or had a different religion or political beliefs. A lot of folks come to NC State and it’s already a cross-cultural experience, but we would like to expand that.”

Construction projects:

NC State is breaking ground on various construction projects on and around campus. Centennial campus will see changes if the bond referendum is passed in March.  

Plans are underway to build a 164-room Marriott with a conference center on Centennial campus. 

Carmichael Gymnasium is currently under renovation to expand and improve the recreation experience for students, faculty and staff. Reynolds Coliseum and the Gregg Museum are expected to be finished sometime later this academic year. 

Administration Positions: 

NC State is currently searching for deans for the College of Textiles and College of Education. They will also be searching for deans for the College of Design and Poole College of Management due to the current deans retiring announcements. 

To keep up with the pace of expanding research clusters, the University is looking to hire roughly 25 professors. 

“New scholarships, the strongest student body in NC State’s history, record research support, unsurpassed rankings and record levels of giving are just a few things,” Woodson said. “Like most of our progress, this is not the end of our story. This is the beginning.  This is one step on a pathway to the future. A future that is big and bold and as big and bold that we want to make it up.”