New buildings, new and improved athletic facilities, new administrators, more students and more money — all are major projects and improvements that N.C. State embarked on this summer and will continue in the future.
Chancellor James Oblinger attributes much of the University’s success in making these improvements to the 2000 bond issue.
“We are still enjoying the effects of the 2000 bond issue, and it is making a real difference on the Main Campus and obviously Centennial Campus as well,” he said.
He pointed to the “tremendous” amount of construction on campus and indicated that the goals of the construction process are multifaceted.
“There are cosmetic improvements as well as infrastructure improvements,” Oblinger said. “We have enhanced chilling capacity that should help us in terms of heating and cooling buildings and the like, and there is a green dimension to that of improved efficiencies in heating and cooling.”
Tom Stafford, vice chancellor for student affairs, also noted the many projects going on around campus.
“We got a new visitors’ center coming online, a new Alumni Center, Wolf Village has just been finished, the Free Expression Tunnel and we have started the addition to Carmichael Gym,” he said.
Parts of Western Boulevard, Cates Avenue and Dan Allen Drive were also resurfaced over the summer.
Students are looking forward to the completion of many projects, particularly Carmichael Gymnasium.
“I am excited about the construction for the gym improvements, because even though construction is never fun, the improvements are going to be so beneficial to all the students,” Veera Motashaw, junior in biochemistry and pre-med, said. “The facilities in the gym are going to be amazing.”
Stafford also talked about the filling in of the end zone at Carter-Finley Stadium and the effects it will have on students.
“There is a whole block of seats for students over there and [the renovation] will enable the marching band to be seated down at the other end zone right next to most of the students,” he said.
While on the topic of sports facilities, Stafford also mentioned that ground has been broken on a new soccer stadium and a new softball stadium.
Stafford said the new facility will be located where Derr Track used to be, and there will be a “beautiful” entrance built at the corner of Morrill Drive and Cates Avenue.
He also indicated the new facility will not be ready until the spring.
Oblinger, Stafford and John Gilligan, vice chancellor for research and graduate studies, all noted improvements to Centennial Campus.
“I have been here for 35 years, and I have never seen this much work done in this short of a time span, including the stuff we have built on Centennial,” Stafford said.
Gilligan spoke of a company moving some of its operations to Centennial Campus, which will provide jobs for NCSU alumni.
“MeadWestvaco, which is a large multinational company, is moving in 200 professionals to the Corporate I building, and they are going to have interactions with a number of colleges including textiles, design, engineering and natural resources because this is a new center for packaging innovation,” he said.
“[MeadWestvaco] is going to start bringing in their people from all over the country to develop new products. They do the packaging for Coca-Cola and a variety of companies, including Trapper Keepers,” he added.
He also said that MeadWestvaco is bringing in about “80 or 90 employees, and the rest are going to be hired here.”
Oblinger emphasized the benefits of the shifting of the College of Engineering from Main Campus to Centennial Campus.
“The thing that I like to mention when we talk about the engineering college moving out to Centennial Campus is that it leaves buildings behind that can be renovated like we have underway now– Withers and Riddick,” he said. “Those buildings can be renovated so that they can be occupied by programs that are predominately located on the Main Campus.”
Using Nelson Hall as an example, he expressed the importance of repair and renovation and how they yield high quality facilities.
He added that the University just received approval for EB III, a $61 million project.
According to Oblinger, after the approval of EB III, there are two new projects in the sights of the University, the first priority being the Hunt Library on Centennial Campus.
“Since we were fortunate to receive EB III funding, we will move everything up one on the list. The two projects we now have on our list are the Hunt Library on Centennial Campus and the second priority is the Randall B. Terry Companion Animal Hospital,” he said.
He also indicated that the legislature only allows two projects on the list at a time.
The new facilities will yield more space for students, thus allowing for a bigger freshman class this year.
“We have a record freshman class in terms of size — 4,550 new freshmen,” Oblinger said.
He also stated that the University has 9,000 transfer and 1,500 new graduate students.
“That pushes us very close to 31,000 total students, so N.C. State continues to be the largest in the system,” he said. “I think we are the only [institution] above 30,000.”
Oblinger also pointed to the fact that NCSU is still receiving more in-state applications from high school seniors than any other school in the system, including UNC.
“For our institution, being a land-grant institution and having the history that we do, that is a very powerful statement that still holds true, and it’s by over 2,000 applications, so it is very significant,” he said.
Oblinger also outlined the hiring of four new deans for the Colleges of Humanities and Social Sciences, Engineering, Natural Resources and The Graduate Program.
Referring to the sudden turnover, Oblinger indicated that there are cycles of retirements and new hirings in upper education.
“When you are at an institution of the caliber of N.C. State, you are going to have very talented administrators that have choices. So if people choose to leave and go to a better position, we thank them for what they did here,” he said.
“I don’t believe it is a symptom of anything other than having really good people, and I think it is just the way things are in higher education,” he added.
Another new face on campus is the head basketball coach, Sidney Lowe, hired after a 33-day search by Athletics Director Lee Fowler.
“I know that there are some Wolfpack fans that were frustrated with the time that it took, but I think Lee Fowler ran an excellent search, and I do believe that patience and persistence are virtues and he had a very deliberate plan,” Oblinger said. “We pursued several people very deliberately.”
He said that Lowe is still trying to constitute a team, but he said he believes Lowe is going to be an outstanding recruiter.
“[Lowe] certainly knows N.C. State, he has been very well received. He is great with the public, he has a twinkle in his eye and you can just tell that he is happy to be here, and I think that spirit is contagious,” Oblinger said.
Aside from new buildings and new hirings, significant progress has been made towards Achieve!, the University’s capital campaign. The goal of $1 billion is within reach. According to Oblinger, $950 million has been raised thus far.
He said that the University will not reset its goal as it has in the past, but will keep the current momentum going.
“We are just going to continue to raise money to support a variety of programs at N.C. State,” he said. “One of the most significant projects on the administration’s mind is Hillsborough Street, and they have taken many steps to ensure the gateway to NCSU is revitalized.”
Oblinger stated that N.C. State and Raleigh are joined at the hip, and that the University recently sent four representatives from planning and facilities along with four Raleigh representatives out of a similar department to the University of Cincinnati and Penn State University, who have similar streets with successful revitalization projects completed.
Stafford said the City of Raleigh has set up a multi-million dollar program to help with the Hillsborough Street project.
“A lot of students spend time on Hillsborough Street, and [the City of Raleigh] is going to construct some roundabouts, and when that gets done it is going to really enhance that corridor adjacent to the campus,” he said. “It is going to attract more interest and more businesses to want to locate along there.”
Oblinger mentioned all the help and support that the Hillsborough Street revitalization has garnered.
“We have good merchant participation, good citizen participation and good University participation, which includes faculty, staff and students,” he said.
Although all the projects on campus can be inconvenient, the feeling around campus is that the hassle is worth it in the end.
“As for all the construction going on around campus, it can be really annoying at times, and of course, like the other half of the student population, I wish it could be already finished,” Motashaw said.
“But at the same time I know it’s only going to make a better environment and more efficient campus, and in the long run it will be worth all the mess and trouble,” he said.
