Physicist Bob Beichner is no stranger to mixing things up in the lab or in the classroom. His innovative teaching methods have been fine tuned over the past decade into a system called SCALE UP – Student Centered Activities for Large Enrollment Undergraduate Programs – and adopted in one form or another at more than 50 universities across the United States, including Clemson, the University of Alabama and MIT. Beichner’s philosophy is that students learn better through hands-on activities – a philosophy that's been borne out by research and in practice.
Legacy Lunch welcomes new students who are making NC State a family tradition. Attendees enjoy a break on move-in day with a barbecue lunch, music by NC State’s Marching Band, the Power Sound of the South and participate in a special "pinning" ceremony with their relatives.
Over the next several months, constituents from the NC State community will undertake one of the most important jobs in the life of a university – the search for a new chancellor. Earlier this week, we took to the streets to speak with a number of NC State students, faculty, staff and alumni in hopes of finding out which qualifications and characteristics they feel are most important for our future chancellor to possess.
During the record-setting 2007-08 drought in North Carolina, when the governor called water conservation everyone’s patriotic duty, a brown lawn was a badge of honor instead of a neighborhood blight. But even before the drought began, NC State researchers were studying ways to use less water in outdoor irrigation, which could make green yards honorable during future dry spells.
Amid corporate restructuring plans, car czars and a waning economy, the struggling automotive industry is tasked with providing more efficient and economical options for car buyers. While foreign markets have been quick to move into hybrid and electric vehicle space, the United States has been slower to adapt. That's where NC State comes in.
Last fall, as the country skidded into a deep economic recession, Rebecca Swanson read a panicky e-mail from an NC State alumnus. "He was a middle manager and in a heartbeat he had been laid off," Swanson said. "He had no job, no skills that were in demand, and two kids to support. So he turned to his school for help."
Before he took the stage in front of members of the NC State family gathered Tuesday afternoon for a standing-room-only welcome celebration, our new chancellor Jim Woodward spent a few minutes speaking with us on camera. Watch the video — the first of many to come from Chancellor Woodward as he keeps his promise of openness and transparency.
From the youngest undergrad to members of the university’s Board of Trustees, members of the NC State family gathered Tuesday afternoon for a standing-room-only celebration to officially welcome former professor Jim Woodward back to the university as chancellor.
After a long, distinguished career in higher education, Jim Woodward found himself quite comfortable in retirement – a career choice that allowed the former UNC-Charlotte chancellor an opportunity to relax the days away (sans jacket and tie, of course) with his wife, Martha, and their new puppy. Then came a Sunday afternoon phone call from UNC system president Erskine Bowles, who asked if Woodward – whose teaching career began at NC State in 1968 – would be interested in returning to campus as the university’s chancellor. It was the only position, Woodward recalled earlier this week, capable of luring him out of retirement.
Dr. Jim Woodward has been named of North Carolina State University, bringing years of administrative experience and leadership to the university. Woodward, who started work at NC State June 9, previously served as the chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte from 1989 to 2005.