Provost’s Corner: October 2017

Dear faculty and staff,

We’re in the middle of the semester and the beginning of an exciting fall at NC State! This season brings lots of events and activities to the university, including Diversity Education Week and Red and White Week, where the campus community celebrates homecoming.

I hope you enjoy our sit-down this month with Dr. Rupert Nacoste, professor of psychology. His inspiring remarks at convocation set the tone for this semester at NC State and he continues to be a visionary leader in diversity education for our students, faculty and staff. Diversity and inclusion are central to our strength as a community, and I am especially proud NC State has been selected to receive the 2017 INSIGHT Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award, honoring colleges and universities with an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Diversity Education Week (DEW) will take place Sunday, October 22 – Saturday, October 28. The week focuses on academic, artistic and social opportunities for students, faculty and staff. We hope to showcase our current efforts to promote diversity, while still recognizing that we must increase our resolve to make the campus a more welcoming and inclusive environment for all. Click here for a full list of DEW programming.

Across campus, we have so much to we proud of this fall! We’re celebrating college and departmental milestone anniversaries including the Poole College of Management’s 25th, the Department of Computer Science’s 50th, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s 100th and the Department of Physics’ 100th! Dr. Natasha Olby, a professor of neurology and neurosurgery in the College of Veterinary Medicine, was recently presented with the Dr. Kady M. Gjessing and Rahna M. Davidson Distinguished Chair in Gerontology, the largest endowed chair in NC State history.

We’ve continued to deepen our commitment to Student Success. TRIO Programs at NC State instituted the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program this month to help first-generation students, students with limited resources and students from underrepresented groups to pursue doctorates. We hosted a Transfer Student Advising Summit last week that brought together over 100 NC State faculty, advisers, and other staff that work with transfer students. I was honored to speak to the attendees about the value, role and needs of transfer students at NC State.

At the end of this month, we’ll kick-off Red and White Week (Sunday, Oct. 29 – Saturday, Nov. 4). NC State’s homecoming will welcome alumni back to campus while providing a variety of fun and engaging activities for everyone. Check out all our Red and White Week events at redwhiteweek.ncsu.edu.

To keep up with all academic and faculty- or staff-related developments, follow @NCStateProvost on Twitter.

Until next time,

Warwick Arden
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost