NC State Engineering
Spring 2010 Online Magazine

FROM THE FOUNDATION BOARD PRESIDENT

Spring is a time for new beginnings, and that feels particularly true here at NC State this year.

This April, NC State welcomed the leadership of Dr. William Randolph “Randy” Woodson as the university’s 14th chancellor. Chancellor Woodson comes to us from Purdue University, where he most recently served as provost, the university’s chief academic officer. He is very familiar with the vital, solution-oriented role that a land-grant College of Engineering like ours at NC State plays in our society.

He also shares with Dean Martin-Vega a desire to boost the national and international reputation of the College of Engineering and to increase the value of the diploma hanging on your wall and mine. As I know you agree, we have a lot to be proud of — and plenty more to accomplish in driving our College to new heights!

One of Chancellor Woodson’s primary goals is to build the university’s endowment, the long-term investments made by alumni and friends that provide the margin of excellence in higher education. As readers of this publication know, the NC State Engineering Foundation shares this commitment, recognizing that endowment gifts are unique in their capacity to make an impact on the lives of many students and faculty. In Engineering, endowment was the focus of the Achieve! fundraising campaign, through which we increased the number of endowed scholarships by 65, more than doubled the number of endowed professorships, and tripled the number of endowed fellowships, unrestricted funds and programmatic funds.

As we all take pride in this achievement, we are especially grateful for the loyal and passionate donors whose generosity opened up so much opportunity for students and faculty here in the College. But there still remains much to accomplish in our effort to be the very best. The overall endowment in support of the College of Engineering, as well as the endowment per student, lags that of many of our regional and national peer institutions like Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Purdue and Penn State. These are the schools we compete with for the people who will make a difference in our society today and tomorrow. Endowment is the key to building the opportunities those students and faculty seek.

I hope that you will take a moment to visit the Engineering Foundation’s new website, which provides further information about our efforts to build the endowment, and recognizes the growing number of alumni and friends who are building the future of our College.

Ed White (B.S. EO ’78)
President of the NC State Engineering Foundation Board of Directors