Faculty and Staff Notes

Godfrey Wins Distinguished Service Medal

Dr. A. Blanton Godfrey, dean of the College of Textiles, has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by the American Society for Quality (ASQ). The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest medal awarded by the ASQ for contributions to the quality profession, establishing broad quality improvement initiatives in health care, education, and industry, and for personally demonstrating exemplary quality practice.

Deadline to Present at Outreach Scholarship Conference

Monday, Feb. 1, is the deadline to submit a presentation or poster for the 11th annual National Outreach Scholarship Conference hosted by NC State. The conference will be held Oct. 4-6 at the Raleigh Convention Center. The conference themes encourage authenticity and sustainability as critical components of engaged scholarship. Dale Safrit, professor in the Department of 4-H Youth Development and Family and Consumer Sciences, is leading the planning for NC State along with an interdisciplinary faculty committee. For more information, visit http://www.outreachscholarship.org.

University Standing Committee Online Survey

Interested in a new service opportunity? Take the 2010-11 university standing committees preference survey, which is available online through 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 1. The survey has been enhanced to allow you to indicate your interest in serving on standing committees and administrative advisory groups. To make sure your schedule will accommodate the meeting time for the committee you’re interested in, check the committee’s Web page before volunteering. You can list your first through fourth preferences. The chancellor will make committee appointments this summer. For more information about the selection process, read the online information. Send your survey questions to Amy Jinnette at amy_jinnette@ncsu.edu.

NC State Fills Top Research Position

Longtime faculty member Dr. David Smith will lead the research arm of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Smith is the new associate dean for research and director of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service.

Smith, the Philip Morris Professor and former head of the Department of Crop Science, will have oversight responsibility for $130 million in annual research expenditures.

Smith joined the faculty in 1981 as a Cooperative Extension Service tobacco specialist in the Department of Crop Science. He was named interim department head in 2006 and permanent head a year later. He holds a Ph.D. in crop science from NC State and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in agronomy from the University of Florida.

Tax Time: Locating Your W-2 Form

Employees who signed up for electronic W-2 forms can view and print them via the Employee Self Service section of My Pack portal. You can check the online flyer with step-by-step instructions for this process. Employees who chose to continue receiving a paper W-2 will receive the forms through their departments. The forms should be delivered to the departments by Thursday, Jan. 28. For more information, contact University Payroll at 515-4350.

Henderson Honored for Teaching

Dr. Karla Henderson, professor of parks, recreation and tourism management, won the Society of Park and Recreation Educators 2009 Excellence in Teaching Award, the highest teaching honor from the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). A previous recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Research Award, NRPA’s top research honor, Henderson is one of two people in the association’s history to have won both awards.

Dixon Named Green Citizen of Month

Tracy Dixon, director of the University Sustainability Office, was chosen as the WRAL-FM (Mix 105) Green Citizen of the Month. With the support of the university’s Facilities Division, Dixon launched the office in April 2008. As director, she works to integrate sustainability into NC State's culture through her work with departments from the architect’s office to transportation. She has helped transform the Campus Environmental Sustainability Team (CEST) into an administrative advisory council that reports to the chancellor. CEST is currently developing a campus Climate Action Plan which will lay the framework for the university to reach its goal of climate neutrality. Dixon is a member of the Emerging Green Builders, U.S. Green Building Council and North Carolina Green Power Speakers Bureau.

Physics Professors Recognized

Three physics professors have been named fellows of the American Physical Society. Dr. Gail McLaughlin was cited for her work in elucidating the role of neutrinos in nucleosynthesis in supernovae and black hole accretion disks, and for her studies of the potential of low energy beta-beams in neutrino physics. Dr. Ruth Chabay, professor of physics, was recognized for contributions to the development of computer-based learning and tutorial systems, visualizations and curricula that have modernized and improved how students learn physics. Dr. John Blondin, was honored for contributions to the study of accreting systems, stellar outflows, supernovae and supernova remnants through hydrodynamic simulations, and for his authorship and maintenance of the VH-1 hydrodynamic code.

Equity for Women Award Nominations Open

The Council on the Status of Women invites you to nominate an NC State employee or student for the Equity for Women Award recognizing voluntary or job-related service toward the goal of women's equity. Friday is the deadline to nominate a colleague or student using the online nomination form. Results will be announced at the Sisterhood Dinner on Thursday, Feb. 4.

HR Moves Announced

Debra Harrison is the new leave systems analyst for Human Resources. She transferred to the leave administration unit in the Benefits Office after serving as Web leave administrator for Human Resources Information Management. The leave administration office is a consolidated unit that serves as a one-stop shop for administering leave policies and managing the leave system. For leave-related questions, contact the Benefits Office at 515-2151. For specific questions related to the online leave system, contact Harrison at 515-4272 or debra_harrison@ncsu.edu.

Robin Nowlin was promoted to assistant director of payroll for tax management in Human Resources, following a competitive search. Her experience at NC State includes four and a half years as payroll supervisor and more than seven years as a foreign national tax specialist. Nowlin will continue to be involved in payroll processing until a new payroll supervisor is hired.  

Recyclemania is Back

Recyclemania is back on campus through March 27. The nationwide competition between 500 colleges and universities promotes recycling and waste reduction. Last year NC State ranked 23rd in the nation and beat its sister university, UNC-Chapel Hill, in four out of six categories. You can help NC State do even better this year by recycling. For more information about Recyclemania activities on campus, visit http://www.ncsu.edu/facilities/recycling/recyclemania.php or join the Recyclemania Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=270317706671&ref=mf.

CHASS Names Two Alumni to Advisory Board

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences welcomed two new alumni as members of its Board of Advisors. Ken Gray (BS, ’80, political science) directs the southern region of Strategic Products and Services. He manages the Raleigh, Charlotte and Richmond offices for the telecommunications company.  His 25 years of experience in sales and sales management includes serving as regional vice president for telecommunications firm Universal Solutions. Brad Remmey (BS, ’94, history) is owner and manager of Artisan Custom Homes, where he handles sales, marketing, accounting, legal matters and customer service. He honed his expertise in sales and marketing at AT&T, selling network services and bringing in new clients in New Jersey and New York City, and at Citysearch.com, managing  the American Express account. Remmey holds North Carolina Realtor and broker licenses. He earned an M.B.A. from Wake Forest University.

Friday Institute Spearheads Education Proposal

Dr. Glenn Kleiman and the team at the Friday Institute successfully coordinated the North Carolina Race to the Top proposal on behalf of Gov. Perdue, the State Board of Education and the Department of Public Instruction. The proposal seeks $470 million in funding to improve K-12 education and has been endorsed by all 115 local education agencies, the major education associations and key government, business and academic leaders.

In Memoriam

Abe Holtzman

Longtime political science professor Abe Holtzman died Monday at 88.

The award-winning professor was a mentor to some of the state's top Democrats. In a 1988 article in The News & Observer, former Gov. Jim Hunt called Holtzman, "the most challenging and stimulating professor I ever had." But former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms was not a fan. Early in his career as a local TV commentator, Helms labeled Holtzman a subversive who undermined the values of the South.

Born in Detroit and educated at UCLA and Harvard, Holtzman served as a congressional aide and staff assistant to the Democratic National Committee before starting his teaching career. He taught for more than 45 years at NC State, where his research interests included lobbying, political parties and the relationship between the president and Congress.

He is survived by his wife, Sylvia, three sons and their wives, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.