Although Chancellor Randy Woodson has already been presiding over the University since April, he was officially installed in a ceremony on Tuesday.

Margery Overton, chair of the faculty and a professor of civil engineering, provided the welcome speech for the installation and spoke about Woodson as chancellor.

Distinguished guests included Governor Beverly Perdue, members of the North Carolina General Assembly, members of the Board of Governors, members of the N.C. State Board of Trustees, delegates from other colleges and faculty from the University.  

“Chancellor Woodson has a clear vision for N.C. State,” Overton said.  “He must build on the past of the University to improve the future.”  

Overton’s sentiments were supported by Woodson’s speech after he had been officially installed.  Woodson pointed out areas within the University that need attention.

“As we consider how to move N.C. State forward, there are three things that need our focus and attention: the success of our students and faculty, engagement in economic development and organizational matters,” Woodson said.

Woodson mentioned issues associated with direct admission to colleges, limited transfer between colleges and little overlap between curriculums of separate colleges.  

“We lose far too many students from N.C. State that are academically eligible,” Woodson said.

Woodson said he feels that the University should do more to assist students in advising situations.

“One thing that we can do is to elevate our commitment to advising across colleges to help our students navigate a large, technically complicated University,” Woodson said.  “We can also work to advance transfer opportunities for students starting at other UNC campuses or the great community college system of North Carolina.  We can impact them, improve affordability and improve success with those kind of partnerships.”

Another concern Woodson rose during his speech was research funding.  Woodson said he pledged work to increase funding to the life sciences.

“While the research expenditures have increased in recent years, they have not kept pace with our peers.  For one, the growth in NIH funding in the last two decades has largely passed N.C. State,” Woodson said.  “One of the ways that we can address this, that we will address this, is a focused effort on the life sciences to take advantage of our historic strength in genetic and biological science.”

The importance of maintaining faculty was another point that Woodson made.

“We need to increase the number of tenure track faculty. … Without sufficient numbers of tenure track faculty to train graduate students, we are in effect limiting our research capacity, reducing graduate enrollment and increasing class size for undergraduates.  While it may save money in the short term, cutting faculty is devastating in the long term,” Woodson said.

When addressing budget issues, Woodson expressed his determination to overcome the challenges.

Woodson said, “We have to find a way to continue to produce at the high level that we have come to expect.  To do anything less is to compromise the dreams we have for this great University.”

Woodson prompted light laughter from the audience when he paraphrased Nobel Prize-winning physicist Ernest Rutherford, “Ladies and gentleman, we have run out of money.  It is time to start thinking.”

A strategy that Woodson intends to pursue for overcoming state budget cuts is increasing the endowment.  He said that many peer institutions have endowments three to five times the size of NCSU’s.  

“We can overcome the challenges of a weak economy by growing our endowment.  … We have to get our endowment to sufficient levels to help us weather these economic storms and to have a differentiator to make this institution great.  We cannot rely on the state for all of our needs,” Woodson said.  

Speakers at the ceremony expressed their hopes for Woodson and the University.  President of the University of North Carolina, Erskine Bowles, praised Woodson.

“There is not a doubt in my mind that Randy Woodson is the person to lead N.C State today and into the future,” Bowles said.  “He is an energetic and dedicated leader who personifies what N.C. State is all about.”

Purdue also spoke about Woodson’s vision for the University.

“He knows where he intends to take us, and he intends to take us there,” Purdue said.

Purdue also reminded Woodson of the responsibility of his office.

“Now, you work for the people of this state,” Purdue said.

Lawrence Davenport, chair of the Board of Trustees, said, “Randy Woodson is a strong leader, and we look forward to where he will take us in the coming years.”