Media Contact:
Dr. Kathryn Moore, 919/515-5900
Chad Austin, News Services, 919/515-3470

Nov. 8 , 2005

Friday Institute To Open Wednesday With Dedication Ceremony

North Carolina State University’s College of Education will open the William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation with a dedication ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at the facility, which is located on Centennial Campus, connected to Centennial Campus Middle School. Media coverage of the event is invited.

Beginning at 3:15 p.m., members of the media can don an eye-tracking apparatus and participate in a mock experiment as Dr. Eric Wiebe, associate professor of mathematics, science, and technology education, demonstrates one of the institute’s many research projects.
Immediately following a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m., the institute’s namesakes, William C. “Bill”
and Ida Friday, will place the cornerstone.

The Friday Institute is located beside Centennial Campus Middle School, which is on Main Campus Drive. Main Campus Drive is off Trailwood Drive near Centennial Campus; visitors traveling to the event from Avent Ferry Road near the NC State campus should turn left on Trailwood Drive. Visitors traveling east on I-40 should take the Gorman Street exit, make a left onto Gorman Street, a right onto Avent Ferry Road and a right onto Trailwood Drive.

The $10 million, 33,000-square-foot facility honors the Friday family’s unwavering commitment to educational excellence and equity. Considered one of North Carolina’s “first families of education,” both Bill and Ida Friday have devoted themselves to public service and support for North Carolina’s children and its educational system. Bill Friday served as president of the University of North Carolina System from 1956 until his retirement in 1986. He is a 1941 graduate of NC State.

The mission of the high-tech research and outreach facility is to advance education through innovation in teaching, learning and leadership. Institute officials will collaborate with educators, researchers, and government and business leaders to provide solutions for critical educational needs across North Carolina, particularly in rural and underserved areas of the state.

-austin-