October 2022 Announcements

• NC State has officially launched the Global One Health Academy, focused on the health of plants, animals, biodiversity and human societies. The academy will be among just a small handful of similar programs in the world and will build upon the university’s strengths in agriculture and plant health, veterinary medicine and domestic animal health, and the health of biodiverse ecosystems and human societies. It will also strengthen NC State’s commitment to interdisciplinary excellence and collaboration among faculty, staff and students across colleges and units. Sid Thakur, a global leader in One Health, has been named executive director of the Global One Health Academy, effective September 1. Thakur is a professor of molecular epidemiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine and director of the college’s Global Health program.

Administrator Updates

• Director of the Institute for Emerging Issues search: The nomination committee met in September for a mid-search review meeting and gathered last week to select candidates for first round interviews to be held later this month or in early October. Finalist visits to campus are tentatively planned for early December. Stay up to date on the search by visiting the search page on the Provost’s Office website or go.ncsu.edu/iei-search.
• Upcoming Dean Searches: The Provost’s Office will begin searches soon for deans of the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Engineering and Sciences. Members of the affected colleges and university leadership will be notified as soon as the searches are underway.

From the Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Initiative:

• The Initiative will be hosting a session titled, “Coastal Resilience and Sustainability for Rural Communities” (3:15-4:45 p.m., November 7) during NC Sea Grant’s “North Carolina Coastal Conference” (November 7-8) at the McKimmon Center. This interactive session will be a facilitated discussion on the greatest information and training needs and how to creatively engage communities in finding innovative and entrepreneurial approaches to enhancing coastal resilience and sustainability. Register to attend the event (registration for in-person attendance closes October 28) and join our session!

From DELTA:

• Director of Environmental First Year Program Megan Lupek recognized the need to provide a warm welcome to new students while helping them to conceptualize the many different career paths available to them. She was awarded a DELTA Critical Path Course Redesign Grant and used it to reimagine the approach of the ENV 101: Exploring the Environment course. Learn more. 
• Engage students in your course content and help them succeed with interactive videos. PlayPosit is a digital tool that is integrated into Moodle that instructors can use to make video content more active and engaging. If you’ve never used PlayPosit before and want to get started, visit our PlayPosit Teaching Resources page to learn more and register for a workshop.
• Many universities recognize the benefits of gamification that use points and badges to incentivize students to learn. Now, a Moodle Roadmap plug-in has been developed by DELTA to enable game-like features in Moodle with a low learning curve, and more importantly, to enhance student success through self-regulation. This tool is available to all instructors through Moodle 4.0 course space and project space. Learn more. 

From the Office for Faculty Excellence:

• The Office for Faculty Excellence will host How Can the Libraries Support Your SoTL Projects? On Wednesday, November 16 from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. via Zoom. The session will be led by Maria Gallardo-Williams, OFE faculty development specialist and Shaun Bennett, research librarian for business, education and data literacy. Come learn about the tools to approach literature searching in a systematic way, through a combination of Boolean search, search alerts, Google scholar, and tools like Covidence and Zotero geared toward your SoTL research projects. 

From the Office of Global Engagement:

• Diversity Abroad has named NC State’s Office of International Services as the recipient of the 2022 Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion in International Education in the Institutional/Organizational award category of International Student Success. Through the Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion in International Education Awards, Diversity Abroad celebrates outstanding institutions, organizations, individuals, and students who have developed inclusive practices that increase access, foster diversity and inclusion in international education and promote an inclusive environment for international students on campus. 

From the Office of Information Technology:

• In celebration of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, NC State will sponsor “It’s Easy to Stay Safe Online” to increase the awareness and prevention of security threats. This year’s cybersecurity program begins with an “Adventure in Cyberland.” From Oct. 3-31, embark on a digital scavenger hunt to find cyber clues in online resources that will teach you how to navigate safely through our complex digital world. Once you complete the scavenger hunt, you’ll be entered into a raffle for a chance to win great prizes.

The program will also feature State Chief Risk Officer Rob Main who will shed some light on North Carolina’s cyber future. Main will deliver the virtual keynote “Back to Our Future: Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Roads” on Friday, Oct. 21 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. During his talk, Main will discuss priorities to strengthen the whole-of-state approach to cybersecurity. Other planned events include:

• • Earn Your Cyber Creds @ Talley
  • Monday, Oct. 24 – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Talley Student Union atrium
  • Not Another Password!
  • Wednesday, Oct. 26 – 10 a.m. online
  • Thursday Oct. 27 – 1 p.m. online

For more information about how to register for these and other planned cyber events, visit the NC State Cybersecurity Awareness Month website at go.ncsu.edu/CSAM2022. Sponsors of this year’s events include the NC State Office of Information Technology, the NC State Arts Program, Amazon and CampusGuard.

Other Announcements

• The National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) will host Finding Common Ground: From Conflict to Coalition Building on Friday, November 4 from 9 a.m.-noon via Zoom webinar. Those interested in participating may register here. The NCBI has developed a model for conflict resolution. This model teaches participants skills to handle tough interpersonal and intergroup conflicts. Workshops examine controversial issues through a positive process. Participants learn to reframe controversial issues into a context where all parties are able to work toward a common solution.