The Case for the State of North Carolina
The College of Engineering is the single largest unit within NC State University, one of the nation’s premiere land-grant institutions.
Currently, state appropriations account for 41% of the university’s total expenditures. A recent study measuring the university’s impact on the economy of North Carolina determined that the state and its citizens receive a return of nearly $7 for every one dollar invested in the university. Engineering is responsible for much of that impact.
The college catalyzes economic opportunity within the state through education, research and engagement emphasizing hands-on learning, teamwork, innovation and entrepreneurship. Our approach honors the state’s investment by:
- producing highly sought after graduates who often stay close to home when they begin their professional careers
- facilitating the transfer of technologies developed at NC State to regional industries
- incubating new companies in the state-of-the-art facilities of Centennial Campus, a national model for seeding innovation through convergence
- ensuring the future engineering pipeline and maximizing public educational opportunity around the state through groundbreaking K-12 outreach programs
When companies consider new locations for their businesses, competition is fierce. The cluster of higher education institutions in the Triangle is a significant boon to North Carolina’s efforts. The biggest player in building that success is NC State: More than 65% of the business leaders who live in the Triangle say that NC State contributes the most to the local economy of the Triangle’s three prestigious research institutions. And that local economy is one of technological distinction, having been named for two straight years the top technology research hub in the nation.
The College of Engineering seeks to advance its already tremendous impact. Our vision is to become the top public engineering college in the United States. The state’s leadership understands that maintaining a top-flight engineering program is of escalating importance to the economic future of the state—producing more engineers capable of greater innovations will be key to standing out in the global knowledge economy.
Some of our strongest competition resides in neighboring states that boast quality-of-life advantages similar to those that North Carolina uses to entice corporations to do business here. US News & World Report ranks NC State’s College of Engineering 33rd, while Georgia Tech is ranked 4th, the University of Maryland is ranked 15th, and Virginia Tech 30th. Virginia, a state with which North Carolina frequently spars in corporate recruitment, boasts five engineering schools that are publicly funded, and in addition to Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia’s engineering school is ranked 38th.
Our neighbors and the engineering institutions that they support also realize that innovation is directly tied to their economic outlook. They will seek to improve through many of the same channels of progress that we identify. Like NC State Engineering, those institutions will focus on recruiting the best faculty and students, pulling in federal research dollars, building and providing better equipped state-of-the-art facilities and fostering productive corporate partnerships.
Thus, to succeed in this competitive environment and ensure the economic outlook of the state will require renewed vigor and heightened levels of cooperation between the state and its College of Engineering. We invite state legislators and friends to collaborate with us on strategic ways to advance our shared enterprise.
Content on this site is provided by the NC State Engineering Foundation, Inc.