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From the board

portraits of new COE Foundation Inc. board members
(Top, left to right) Steffanie Easter, Tiffany Chin Moore, Basil Hassan, Deval Parikh and Sahaj Zalavadia

Learn more about the work of the NC State Engineering Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors

The NC State Engineering Foundation (NCSEF) was established in 1944 to aid and promote, by financial assistance and otherwise, engineering education research at NC State. A board of directors made up of alumni and friends of the College of Engineering works with the Foundation staff and the dean of engineering to set the Foundation’s agenda. The board is led by President Nelson Peeler Jr. and Vice-President Deborah Young.

NEW MEMBERS

The Foundation Board has added five new members:

  • Steffanie Easter, CHE ’85
  • Basil Hassan, AE ’88, ’90, ’93
  • Deval Parikh, CHE ’94, EC ’95
  • Tiffany Chin Moore, IE ’01
  • Sahaj Zalavadia, CSC ’22 (student representative)

The following members have completed their terms and rotated off of the board after dedicating several years of distinguished service: Ashley Barnes (10 years of service), Ralph Edwards (eight years), John Freeman (six years), Greg Washington (eight years), Bob Womack (eight years), Mark Norcross (eight years) and W. ‘H’ Clark (eight years).

THE NCSEF BOARD STRATEGIC PLAN

The Foundation is undergoing a strategic planning process for the first time since 2013.
Young, as chair of the Strategic Planning Committee, states: “The NCSEF Board Strategic Plan is continuing to evolve to achieve, sustain and maintain recognition as one of the preeminent Colleges of Engineering (COE) throughout the world. The Centennial Campus has been the strategic focus over the last eight years: culminating with the opening of the Fitts-Woolard Hall (FWH) in the Summer of 2020.”
The strategic focus for the next five years will be Four Pillars:

  1. Active Engagement
  2. Effective, Resilient and Inclusive Foundation
  3. Supporting the Academic Experience
  4. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Well-Being

“The plan will be achieved through conscientious / intentional actions to recognize, address, include and implement all aspects. As the world changes, the Foundation will broaden its views to ensure all are welcomed, supported, and sense the unification of NCSEF.”

Lindsay Smith, director of development for the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, is the lead facilitator for the effort.

“Using the knowledge of board members and staff, we are well on our way to documenting the Foundation’s intended direction,” Smith said. “This process is being used to aid us in prioritizing our efforts, effectively allocating resources and aligning stakeholders and employees on the organization’s goals. Most importantly, we want to ensure those goals are backed by data and sound reasoning to help the College of Engineering reach its vision of becoming the leading public college of engineering in the country and one of the preeminent colleges of engineering in the world.”

Young said that she “looks forward to leading and teaming with President Peeler, Dean (Louis) Martin-Vega, Foundation Executive Director (Griffin) Lamb, the Board of Directors and the NCSEF staff to develop and implement a plan to accomplish the desired and identified goals.”


Return to contents or download the Spring / Summer 2021 NC State Engineering magazine (PDF, 52.0 MB).

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