May 2019 Announcements

• Spring 2019 Commencement will be held on Saturday, May 11, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. at PNC Arena. Preceding the ceremony, a concert by the Amalgam Brass Ensemble will take place at 8:30 a.m. Departmental graduations will be held in various locations on and around campus on May 9-11. Virginia M. (Ginni) Rometty, chairman, president and chief executive officer of IBM, will deliver the commencement address. During the ceremony, Chancellor Randy Woodson will confer honorary degrees on Rometty and Craig Dykers, a founding partner of Snøhetta, an international architecture, landscape, interiors, and brand and graphic design company.
• Two faculty members received the Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by NC State and the university’s Board of Trustees. Chancellor Randy Woodson presented the awards during the 2019 Celebration of Faculty Excellence on May 1. The 2019 honorees are: Donald Bitzer, Distinguished University Research Professor, Department of Computer Science; and Youngsoo (Richard) Kim, Jimmy D. Clark Distinguished University Professor, Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
• Flying with Pandas and Walking in Space: Pushing Boundaries Towards a Better Planet will take place Thursday, June 6 from 6-7 p.m. in the Hunt Library Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public; no registration is required. In this presentation, accompanied by spectacular imagery, zoo and wildlife veterinarians Lucy Spelman (art school professor) and Rick Linnehan (astronaut) describe how they have pushed past traditional professional boundaries to help make the planet a better place. Their stories show us that collaboration, compassion, and creativity are an important part of scientific work. Friends of the Library members will be invited to a reception following the presentation.  For more information, click here.
• NC State is hosting the 2019 NC STRIVE Central East Conference on Thursday, June 6 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Talley Student Center. The event offers a multi-track system of enriched, informative and relevant breakout sessions that are tailored to three main audiences: student veterans, higher education staff and faculty, and community professionals who have a primary touch point with military service members, veterans or their families. The conference will also feature two student panels, a variety of exhibitors and several poster presentations. The event is free but registration is required by May 31. For more information, visit go.ncsu.edu/ncstrive.
• The NC State Faculty and Staff Ombuds, Roy Baroff, is holding a “Summer Coffee Hour” (10 – 11 a.m.) on the last Wednesday of the month in May, June and July. Join Roy for a cup of coffee to learn about ombuds services, to just say hello or help Roy learn more about working at NC State. Look for the sign “The Ombuds is In.” Here are the details (all times are 10 – 11 a.m.):
  • Wednesday, May 29 – Global Village Organic Coffee, 2428 Hillsborough Street  
  • Wednesday, June 26 – Port City Java – College of Veterinary Medicine
  • Wednesday, July 31 – Port City – College of Textiles (Centennial Campus)
• The Office of Outreach and Engagement is investing in expanding the number of service-learning faculty and courses at NC State and invite applications for the new Service-Learning Faculty Associates Program. Service-learning is a teaching pedagogy that brings NC State’s mission to the classroom. As a form of ‘Engaged Learning’, service-learning is shown to strengthen student academic learning, increase multiple dimensions of personal development, strengthen career preparation, and deepen civic engagement. Faculty at NC State who use service-learning report great satisfaction in the energy and enlightenment that comes to the teaching-learning experience of their classes. The application for the Service-Learning Faculty Associates Program is open until Friday, May 10. Click here to apply.
• Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah is NC State’s 2019 Common Reading Program selection. Copies of Born a Crime, chosen by the students, faculty and staff on the Common Reading Selection Committee, will be distributed to all first-year students during New Student Orientation prior to the fall semester. Themes from Born a Crime will also be the focus of New Student Convocation on Monday, August 19, 2019, to be held at Reynolds Coliseum to welcome the Class of 2023. Learn more about the selection and how to engage with the material.
• New department head: Kathleen Rieder is now the interim head of the Department of Art and Design in the College of Design.
• Frank Buckless has been named Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Dean of the Poole College of Management at NC State after a nationwide search. His appointment becomes effective on July 1.
• The Poole College of Management has launched summer programming called “Summer at the Poole” –– business education for non-business majors, including online stand-alone business courses, the Online Business Essentials Certificate and the business minor. It’s open to all currently enrolled NC State students except business majors. If you are a faculty or staff member who knows of a student who may be a good fit for this program, please direct them to the Summer at the Poole website for more information.

From the Office of Research and Innovation:

• NC State is calling on graduate students, undergraduate students, postdocs, faculty and staff to take part in Envisioning Research, the university’s annual research image contest. Help us highlight the beauty and importance of the work being done at the bench and in the field, both on campus and around the world. Submissions are due by June 7. Learn more about the contest and how to submit an entry.
• The Research Enterprise Data system — NC State’s new, enterprise-level research administration software — is now live and available for campus-wide access. The system launched its first module, the Animal Care and Use (IACUC) module, May 1. Researchers have until May 22 to switch to the new system. However, those who need to file amendments or renewals for existing projects should contact the animal care and use office at iacuc_office@ncsu.edu. System training is available now at: go.ncsu.edu/red-system-training. Quick reference guides, a comprehensive user manual and links to register for eLearnings and in-person training sessions via REPORTER are available.

From the Office of Global Engagement:

• The Office of Global Engagement hosted the 2019 Global Engagement Exposition on April 23, celebrating the international excellence of NC State faculty, staff and students. The Leadership in International Education, Outstanding Global Engagement and Jackson Rigney International Service Awards were presented, along with the Jackson Rigney Study Abroad Scholarships. Poster presentations by faculty, staff and students, covering various topics in international education, research and service, were also included in the event.

From NC State DELTA:

• There’s still time to submit your DELTA Grants proposal! We want to collaborate with you to solve instructional challenges and positively impact student success. With a DELTA Grant, you not only receive financial resources but also your own DELTA team with expertise in instructional design, media development and more. We have six grant types to fit your individual needs. Check out our website for more info on each grant and the application process. Submit your proposal by May 17 at 5 p.m. for consideration.
• Consider sharing your experiences and expertise at the 2019 DELTA Summer Shorts in Instructional Technologies program held the week of Aug. 12. We are now accepting session proposals for both our face-to-face (Aug. 12) and online (Aug. 13) days. Proposals will be accepted now through May 31, with decisions reached and notifications sent by June 15. All NC State faculty and staff are eligible to apply, and individuals may submit up to three proposals. View an example of an ideal proposal. Registration for Summer Shorts 2019 will open July 8.

From the Office of Assessment:

• Each year, every academic program offering a degree or certificate is evaluated by its faculty to improve the effectiveness of the program. Periodically, we present an example of what a selected program has done for improvement. In 2018, the Bachelor of Science in fashion and textile management, with a concentration in fashion development and product management, assessed “students ability to describe the fashion design processes using technology and management methods.” To measure this outcome, the faculty analyzed student proficiency in a variety of apparel design software in FTM 317. The analysis showed students were highly skilled with apparel design software including Fashion Snoop, Gerber Accumark and Lectra Kaledo but had a limited level of confidence with each while being exposed to a variety of software. As a result of their analysis, the faculty decided to revise the time allotted to teaching each to balance student breadth and depth with each software platform.