NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson delivered his annual fall address Monday, Oct. 25 in Talley Student Union. Woodson reflected on the past year and shared his plans for the future at NC State with students.
The fall address began with McKenzy Heavlin, a fourth-year studying electrical engineering and the student body president, introducing Woodson and greeting students, staff and faculty.
The fall address is meant to kick off Red and White Week, NC State’s annual homecoming celebration dedicated to NC State pride and school spirit.
“Today kicks off a week of events meant to engage, inspire and reinvigorate your love for NC State University,” Heavlin said. “I hope this week brings back memories of why you love our university.”
Red and White Week is a time to reflect on the past of NC State, but also look towards the future and make plans for the University.
“As we reflect on our time at NC State, Red and White Week also serves as a time to envision the collective future of our university and its impact,” Heavlin said. “A future that strengthens the educational opportunities of North Carolina, builds the characters of tomorrow’s leaders and creates lasting change on a national and global scale.”
Woodson followed Heavlin with his fall address, discussing the pandemic and what the University is doing moving forward. Woodson said over 82% of students are currently vaccinated and encouraged unvaccinated students to get their COVID-19 vaccine.
“For those of you who have not gotten your vaccine yet, I trust you’ll join the rest of us in doing your part,” Woodson said. “There is no better way to help your community, and it beats getting your nose swabbed each week.”
Woodson said he is passionate about NC State and how united the University is, even through the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual classes.
“Our time apart did remind me that NC State isn’t bound by its bricks and mortar,” Woodson said. “This University isn’t just a fixed place; it’s tens of thousands of us learning, working together and rising together.”
NC State’s first catalog in the late 1800s stated that the goal of NC State is to “illustrate sound theory by daily practice,” which has been shaped over time into “Think and Do,” the NC State slogan that many will recognize.
“Our goal is to create knowledge,” Woodson said. “We don’t just want to create knowledge, however, we want to share it and use it for the greater good.”
Woodson introduced staff and students who had great achievements recently, including scholarships, research grants and fellowships. He also talked about NC State’s research successes in the last year.
“More than $1.64 billion in research proposals were submitted in this past year,” Woodson said. “And nearly $400 million in new research projects were funded, and more than half a billion dollars in annual research spending, representing a new record for NC State.”
Woodson spoke about diversity and inclusion at NC State and said he is dedicated to making NC State a diverse community that represents all people of North Carolina.
“Our commitment for diversity and inclusion is written into the work plan for every employee,” Woodson said. “We’ve had unprecedented private support for diversity initiatives this past year alone, with more than 40 new funds being created.”
According to Woodson, NC State’s Jenkins MBA program ranks No. 1 in the nation for diversity.
“This reveals that if you are from an underrepresented background and you seek to gain a foothold in the business world through an MBA, there is no better place in America to do it than NC State,” Woodson said.
Woodson finished his fall address by placing the first item, Vice Provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity Sheri Schwab’s lapel pin, in NC State’s new time capsule. This time capsule will be recovered in 100 years.
“This is a token of our university and a reminder of our ongoing support that this great place needs to thrive,” Woodson said. “Over the next few months, our campus community will have the opportunity to select objects, photos and stories to fill our new time capsule, and next spring we will place it in the Belltower.”
If you missed the chancellor’s fall address and want to hear Woodson’s speech, you can view it on YouTube.
