Faculty and Staff Notes

Chancellor Search Open Forums Set

The Chancellor Search Committee will hold open forums for faculty, staff and students on Wednesday, Aug. 26, to include members of the NC State community in discussions about the search for the university’s next chancellor. The committee welcomes ideas that will guide the selection of candidates. Faculty, staff and students are invited to join in discussions on the qualities the next chancellor should possess as well as the leadership attributes that will best serve the university and its goals.

The committee will hold three forums on Wednesday, Aug. 26, for faculty, staff and students in the Talley Student Center Stewart Theater from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.  The following times have been designated:

• 12:30 p.m. – Staff
• 2 p.m. – Faculty
• 3:30 p.m. – Undergraduate, graduate and professional students

Another forum for alumni, local elected officials and local residents is scheduled at 6 p.m. on Aug. 26 in the Jane S. McKimmon Center.

These are approximate times for the various groups to participate and will help the search committee organize the comments and suggestions offered by speakers. Preference will be given during each designated time to representatives of the scheduled group, but others will have the opportunity to speak if there is unused time remaining at the end of a scheduled session. Please arrive ahead of time to sign up.

Both forums are open to anyone. If you cannot attend one of the forums, comments and questions can be sent to the committee by emailing chancellor_search@ncsu.edu.

Narayan Wins Award

Dr. Roger Narayan, faculty member in the joint department of Biomedical Engineering at NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been named a Fellow of the Society for ASM International, formerly known as the American Society of Metals, a professional organization for materials scientists and engineers. The honor recognizes broad, productive achievement in production, manufacturing, management, design, development, research or education.

Narayan is the author of more than 100 publications and several book chapters on direct writing of biological materials, pulsed laser deposition of bioceramic nanostructures, and two photon polymerization of functional medical devices. He serves as editor-in-chief of the journal Materials Science and Engineering C: Materials for Biological Applications (Elsevier) as well as head of the editorial committee for Materials and Processes for Medical Devices (ASM International). He edited a textbook titled Biomedical Materials, published by Springer. He has organized workshops and symposia for annual meetings of  Materials Science and Technology, the Materials Research Society and the Society for Biomaterials.

His previous honors for research include NC State’s Sigma Xi Faculty Research Award, UNC’s Jefferson-Pilot Fellowship in Academic Medicine, the National Science Faculty Early Career Development Award, and the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award.

Easley Begins Formal Grievance

Former NC State employee Mary Easley has begun a formal grievance regarding termination of her contract by Chancellor Jim Woodward. Easley's contract was terminated in June after substantial portions of her job were eliminated as a result of budget cuts required of the university by the shortfall in the state's budget.

Chancellor Woodward said that, in keeping with the university's grievance procedures and state law, the grievance hearing will be closed but that the university would share the outcome.

"It is essential to the integrity of the process that the grievance proceedings be closed," he said. "This is a confidential personnel matter and will be treated as such. At the conclusion of the process, we will make the outcome public."

A timetable for the grievance has not yet been established.

NC State's Grievance Policies and Procedures:
http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/employment/grievance/POL05.25.1.php

Easley Documents:
http://easley-documents.ncsu.edu/

Alumni Magazine Wins

NC State’s alumni magazine won four awards in the 2009 APEX awards competition, a national competition that received more than 3,700 entries this year.

Molly Renda, print publications manager, won Grand Award in design and illustration in the nonprofit/small office category – the top prize – for her design of the feature, "36 Things We Love About NC State."

Cherry Crayton's article, "A Father's Pursuit," received an award of excellence in the interviews and personal profiles category.

The entire staff was recognized for overall magazine and journal writing excellence for the winter 2008 issue.

The magazine received an award of excellence for energy efficiency writing, for the article, "Talking Trash," that appeared in the spring 2008 issue.

College of Management Selects Board Member

Dr. Michael Luther, an NC State alumnus who serves as president of the David H. Murdock Research Institute in Kannapolis, joined the College of Management’s Board of Advisors.

Luther previously held senior positions at both Merck Frosst Centre in Montreal and GlaxoSmithKline. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from NC State, an MBA. from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and a doctorate in biochemistry from St. Louis University School of Medicine.

Luther is a founding director of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Research Foundation at NC State. He also serves on the boards for Quebec Drug Discovery Consortium, Agile Biosciences and the North Carolina Biopharmaceutical Training and
Education Foundation.

Bragaw convenience store has a new layout, fixtures and energy effiicent features.

Bragaw C-Store Renovated

Bragaw Convenience Store is open for business after summer renovations.

The C-store was rearranged for better traffic flow. It has a new ceiling, counters and a tiled wall, along with energy-efficient lighting and tinted windows to cut utility costs.

The project was part of our five-year master plan to renovate several locations, and the  funds were available to complete it this summer, said Denise Fields, C-Store manager for University Dining.

Rizkalla Honored

Dr. Sami H. Rizkalla, distinguished professor of civil engineering, has been named a fellow of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute for his contributions to the industry and the institute.

He will be recognized during the PCI convention in San Antonio, Texas, Sept. 12-15.

Holst Wins Indy Arts Award

Miles Holst of the Design Library staff has won an Indy Arts Award. Holst is featured in an the Independent Weekly article: http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A258708

Media Requests Compensation and Leave Data

NC State has responded to two News & Observer requests for information regarding compensation for employees. The requests were made to General Administration and to all UNC universities; NC State provided its responses on July 15.

The first request was for all compensation, including retreat packages, for deans and vice chancellors and above. The second was for all salary and leave-related information on every active NC State employee, including accrued annual leave, sick leave, comp time and bonus leave. Overtime paid from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009, also was included.

The state attorney general has ruled that the information is not personnel data that is protected by state or federal statute and must be released.

Workers remove a fallen oak tree.

Trees Fall to Storm

Strong winds felled large oak trees near Winslow and Holladay halls on July 17.

Construction crews removed one of the casualties from inside a tree protection zone near the Belltower, where work on the Hillsborough Street roundabouts continues.

The storm snapped tree limbs surrounding the state capitol building, knocked out downtown street lights and left 4,600 homes without power.

McCorkle Fiction Published

The Atlantic Monthly Fiction 2009 issue contains “P.S.,” a short story by Jill McCorkle, who teaches in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences MFA writing program. The magazine also includes an interview with the author. McCorkle is the author of five novels and four story collections. Her most recent collection of short stories, "Going Away Shoes," will be published in September.  Check http://www.jillmccorkle.com for public readings.

Grad Student Wins Carver Award

Amanda Stephens, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutritional Sciences, is the winner of the 2009 Dr. George Washington Carver Award from the National Peanut Board.

Stephens was presented with her $1,000 award at the 2009 meeting of the American Peanut Research & Education Society in Raleigh on July 15. Her research project focuses on the potential beneficial properties of peanuts, fat free peanut flour and peanut oil in combatting cardiovascular disease.

In Memoriam

Dr. Ralph Greenlaw, former head of the Department of History, died July 20 in his home at age 92.

Greenlaw took on administrative responsibilities when the Department of History became a separate unit in 1965. He was remembered as an officer, gentlemen and scholar. As an officer under Gen. George S. Patton, he saw action across Europe during World War II.

The Princeton graduate’s research field was the French Revolution. For many years, he taught Western Civilization I and II to 300 students per semester in Nelson Auditorium, while directing the department, which doubled its faculty before he retired. Colleagues said he brought kindness, vision and gravitas to the department.