February 2024 Announcements

• Senior Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs Katharine Stewart will be stepping down from her position to return to her full-time faculty role as a professor in the Department of Psychology. Her last day as senior vice provost will be June 30, 2024. Details regarding the search for a new senior vice provost will be available in the coming weeks. Learn more about Dr. Stewart’s impact on NC State.
• The Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost will offer a general information session on the Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure process. The session will be offered on two different dates. The session will include information about the process, an overview of the website, and a question and answer period. New faculty with professorial rank in all tracks (tenure track, teaching, research, etc.), those who will soon be entering the RPT cycle, and anyone involved in reviewing candidates in the 2024-2025 RPT process are encouraged to attend. One session will be offered in person on Main Campus and the other session will be offered remotely via Zoom Webinar. No registration or RSVP is needed to attend these sessions.
  • RPT General Information Sessions
    • Friday, March 1, 2:30-4 p.m. Zoom Webinar will be accessible on March 1 at https://go.ncsu.edu/rptmeetings. 
    • Wednesday, March 20, 3-4:30 p.m. Riddick Hall, Room 450    

Please familiarize yourself with the Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure website prior to participation. If you have questions please contact arjinnet@ncsu.edu.

• Since 2005, NC State has actively engaged in the national Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Faculty Satisfaction survey, developed and administered by the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. During the week of February 5, 2024, faculty at NC State who are eligible to participate in the survey received an email from COACHE (coachefaculty@opinioncast.com ) that includes a unique URL to access the online survey. Between then and when the survey closes the week of April 1, COACHE will send up to five email reminders to non-respondents. Completing the survey is confidential and we encourage robust faculty participation to ensure continued valuable impact for both colleges and the university. The survey should take approximately 25 minutes to complete. Visit go.ncsu.edu/coache-survey for more details. 
• NC State Energy Management wants to know how to best engage the campus community in our energy and water conservation efforts. Please take a short, anonymous survey that will provide valuable feedback to help NC State Energy Management develop and implement engagement strategies. The survey is available until Feb. 15 and should take about 10 minutes to complete. Take the survey. 

From the Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Initiative:

• The Coastal Resilience and Sustainability is hosting a seminar, “International Lessons on Managed Retreat,” on Feb. 27, 2-4 p.m. in Talley Student Union 3210. Join us for an interesting conversation with Gavin Smith (NC State) and Wendy Saunders (New Zealand Earthquake Commission) as they discuss international lessons on managed retreat. Often referred to as “buyouts” in the United States, the acquisition of hazard-prone housing is a necessary approach to building climate resilience and sustainability and is increasingly being discussed as part of a larger managed retreat strategy. Smith and Saunders research the practice and policy of managed retreat and will share an overview of their scholarship and recent collaborative endeavors, to include an international learning lab under development by Dr. Smith and colleagues at universities, centers, and municipalities in Australasia, Europe and the United States. A panel discussion will follow. For more information, please contact coastalresilience@ncsu.edu.

From the Data Science Academy:

• AI Seminar Series: What Can AI and ML Do? – The Global Training Initiative and the Data Science Academy are excited to offer artificial intelligence and machine learning seminar courses to STEM majors and all NC State students. This course will give students an informed understanding of AI, allow them to consider implications for their career paths and offer opportunities to engage with business and technology leaders in conversation about AI. This is a weekly opportunity offered on Mondays, 3:30-4:45 p.m. in the Global Training Initiative Suite 200 (Classrooms). 
• WiDS Worldwide Conference: Watch Party – The Data Science Academy will livestream the Women in Data Science Conference at Stanford University. NC State students, faculty and staff are welcome to attend. Join us to:
  • Get inspired by a great lineup of keynote speakers, tech talks and panel discussions featuring fantastic speakers from industry, academia, nongovernment organizations and government.
  • Explore the conference’s four central themes: digital economies, child safety and health, sustainability and space.
  • Take advantage of this networking opportunity to connect with other data science enthusiasts.
  • The watch party will be March 8 from noon-3 p.m. in the DH Hill Library Auditorium. This event is open to all. 

From DELTA:

• More and more NC State students have a need to discern how to thrive in their courses via a virtual or remote environment. In turn, instructors continue to fine tune teaching methodologies to provide the most successful outcomes possible for all students, regardless of where a student might be located. Learn more about how DELTA is helping enhance remote learning.
• DELTA Grants help faculty solve instructional challenges, often in ways that are innovative and unique. Sharing the process, results and lessons learned through presentations and publications can be a great way to increase the visibility of this work in professional communities. Publishing results is an important, but time-consuming, task for those in academia. Learn how the DELTA Grants team can help you.
• DELTA is pleased to announce a total of 15 Express Grants were awarded for the spring semester. Stretching across six colleges, there were seven Instructional Tools grants, five Course Mapping grants and three Course Accessibility grants.

From the Office for Faculty Excellence:

• The Office for Faculty Excellence and the Campus Writing and Speaking Program are excited to announce a return to Writing Wednesdays. Every Wednesday from noon to 2 p.m., faculty are invited to meet face-to-face or online to write. Learn more.
• The Campus Writing and Speaking Program will host Classroom Connections for Public Advocacy: Supporting Student Voices for Democracy on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 1-2 p.m. Learn more.
• Many faculty members have never had any formal training in education. For this reason, OFE is offering some simple introductory offerings to get faculty on track with their teaching. The Campus Writing and Speaking Program offers Back to Basics workshops for all faculty and instructors at NC State. Back to Basics workshops are focused on the essentials of teaching written, oral, and digital communication within and across each discipline. Back to Basics: Introduction to Universal Design for Learning with Diane Chapman will take place Thursday, Feb. 22 at 11 a.m. Learn more.
• OFE presents the spring 2024 Faculty Conversation Series. The session topics will be:
  • Theatrical Techniques for Teaching with Amy Sawyers-Williams – Wednesday, Feb. 28 from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. via Zoom
  • Writing Assessment, Feedback and AI with Kirsti Cole – Wednesday, March 27 from 2-3 p.m. (special time) via Zoom
  • Building Consultative Mentoring Networks for You and Your Students with Katharine Stewart – Wednesday, April 24 from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. via Zoom

Learn more and register today.

From the Office of Global Engagement:

• The annual conference of the University Global Partnership Network (UGPN) will be hosted by the University of Surrey from May 13-15. The conference theme is Securing a Sustainable Society: New Approaches and Inclusive Practices. Various sub-themes will guide conference workshops and roundtables. 

The UGPN conference provides opportunities to connect with researchers from member institutions, develop teams for multi-institutional funding programs, and learn more about the host campus. Additional conference details are available here. You are welcome to join us in Surrey!

• Nominations are open for the Outstanding Global Engagement, Jackson Rigney International Service and Distinguished Global Alumni awards. Nominations close on February 23, and the award ceremony is April 17.
  • The Outstanding Global Engagement Award recognizes accomplishments in globally engaged teaching, student support, research, extension, and/or outreach and economic development by NC State faculty and professional staff members. 
  • The Jackson Rigney International Service Award recognizes the distinguished contributions of a NC State faculty or staff member in promoting international understanding and service to the university and/or to the international community over the course of their career. 
  • The Distinguished Global Alumni Award honors alumni who were international students while at NC State and have used their education to distinguish themselves through outstanding achievements. 

From the Global One Health Academy:

• The Global One Health Academy is kicking off the Global One Health Leader Series, where One Health experts will present new research and findings related to infectious disease, food/water solutions, and climate change! The first event will take place on Thursday, March 14, from noon-2 p.m. on Zoom. This event will consist of four experts presenting on Next Generation Molecular Diagnostics: Can Dincer (University of Freiburg), Juan Pablo Giraldo (UC Riverside), Catherine Klapperich (Boston University) and Changchun Liu (University of Connecticut). Register today.  
• To advance research and professional development opportunities for faculty working on global challenges through a One Health approach, we are pleased to announce the Global One Health Academy Faculty Travel Award. Award amounts are available up to $2,500 for domestic travel and up to $5,000 for international travel for travel occurring through June 2024. Funds may be used for travel for active research efforts or educational initiatives. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis through 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1.
• Join us for (Y)Our Health in the Movies: Food and Water on Tuesday, March 19 at 4:30 p.m. in the Fishbowl Forum at Hill Library. Films have been depicting potential dystopian outcomes of climate change for a long time. Join food and water solutions experts and film studies professor in a discussion of the science behind depictions of food and water problems in popular movies. There will be a pop-up library of climate change-themed fiction and nonfiction available for checkout before the event. This event is part of the (Y)Our Health in the Movies series and is co-sponsored by the Global One Health Academy and Wicked Problems, Wolfpack Solutions.
• Four projects were selected among competitive applications across six NC State colleges for GOHA’s Seed Grants. In Nov. 2023, the Global One Health Academy opened up a call for Seed Grants. Proposals were welcomed from NC State faculty and EHRA professionals for seed funding for novel, interdisciplinary One Health research projects aligned with any of three priority areas: combating infectious diseases, driving food and water solutions, and addressing climate change and health disparities. 
• The Global One Health Academy, Genetics and Genomics Academy, and Genetic Engineering and Society Center, are hosting a series of monthly Interdisciplinary Professional Development Workshops to help graduate students prepare for a career in interdisciplinary research. Join us Feb. 16, 9:30-11:30 a.m, in Talley 3210 for a workshop on Mentoring Skills for Graduate Students! This interactive workshop will provide guidance and resources on effective research mentoring, and work through example mentoring scenarios to begin putting skills into practice. There will also be a panel discussion with graduate students experienced in mentoring undergraduates in research. This workshop is appropriate for graduate students who have undergraduates as direct reports, have undergraduates in their labs, teach undergraduates, or those who are just interested in learning more about mentoring.

From Innovation and Entrepreneurship:

• Are you interested in or actively building a venture? If so, you should check out the ALA: Launch sessions. The ALA (Andrews Launch Accelerator): Launch sessions are 4 sessions held during the month of March that teach entrepreneurs how to articulate, validate, and communicate their entrepreneurial ventures effectively. These programs are completely free but make a huge impact on early stage ventures. Learn more here: go.ncsu.edu/ala-launch.
• Students and recent alumni, are you building a venture? If so, you should check out the Andrews Launch Accelerator, whose applications just opened. It’s a FREE 14-week summer program, with an opportunity to receive an average of $5,000 in equity-free grants for your startup. NC State juniors, seniors, graduate students and recent alumni (up to 5 years) are eligible to apply! Learn more at go.ncsu.edu/ala.
• Social Innovation Fellows are undergraduate and graduate students from all corners of campus who are interested in becoming changemakers, social entrepreneurs, innovators, and visionaries who have a dream to change the world. Social Innovation Fellows will learn the adaptive skills necessary of social entrepreneurs and innovators as well as technical skills to ideate, launch, or support an entrepreneurial project, product, policy or enterprise. Applications are now open.

From the Institute for Emerging Issues:

• The Institute for Emerging Issues is pleased to announce that Maurice Smith has been named the next chair of the IEI National Advisory Board. Smith is an attorney at M Smith Law and the recently retired president/CEO of Local Government Federal Credit Union (LGFCU) and Civic Federal Credit Union.
• The Institute for Emerging Issues is excited to welcome Tarik Woods as its new Policy and Program Manager. In this role, he will lead research and stakeholder engagement to frame issues and identify major programmatic themes.
• In the latest episode of The Connector, Melissa Hart, senior lecturer in finance in the Poole College of Management and adjunct professor at UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, talks with IEI about educating students of all ages on personal finance. Hart discusses the role technology plays in accessing personal finance information, and strategies for making the best decision for your unique situation and needs. 
• Youth program leaders and industry professionals from Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover and Pender counties recently gathered at Brunswick Community College for the Four-County Regional Conversation on Opportunity Youth – a meeting of leaders with the shared goal of better connecting young adults to employment and upward economic mobility. Learn more.
• The Emerging Voices blog features stories from IEI interns, students from across the state and other up-and-coming voices about issues that matter to North Carolinians. This blog post from NC State Student and IEI Policy Intern Brodie Smith examines food security among North Carolinians. 
• The Institute for Emerging Issues has received two grants totaling $260,000 to assist communities in eastern North Carolina with digital inclusion planning, bringing the institute closer to its goal of all 100 counties having a local-level digital inclusion plan in place by the end of 2024.

From the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity:

• OIED’s Equal Opportunity unit and Prevention Services recently won a 2023-24 NASPA Gold Award under the Campus Security, Crisis Management, Student Conduct and Community Standards, Violence Prevention, and Related Units category for the “Seamless Silos: Collaborative and Culturally-Competent Crisis Management” project. 
• Multicultural Student Affairs will host a screening of the impactful film 36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime, a film that delves into the aftermath of the February 2015 shooting deaths of three Muslim-Americans and NC State alumni at their Chapel Hill apartment complex. The screening will take place Monday, Feb. 19, 6-9 p.m. at Witherspoon Cinema in Witherspoon Student Center.
• Black History Month, which takes place during the month of February, honors the achievements of Black Americans and recognizes the central role of African Americans in United States history. NC State’s campus celebration is led by the African American Cultural Center . Learn more about the activities open to students, faculty and staff in celebration of Black History Month. 
• Nominations are open for the 2024 Chancellor’s Creating Community Awards and DEI Awards. Nominees will be honored at the 2024 RED Event on Tuesday, April 9.

From the Integrative Sciences Initiative:

• NC State and its Integrative Sciences Initiative are excited to hold a one-day ChemEd Summit on March 8 from 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. in Talley Student Union’s Currituck/Hatteras Ballroom. This event aims to bring together members from the industrial, academic and state and federal chemical sciences community. The event will have the following goals:
  • Identify the essential knowledge, skills and abilities required in the dynamic landscape of the chemical/molecular sciences today
  • Collaboratively develop a shared vision for the future of chemical/molecular sciences education, considering the evolving needs and challenges in the field
  • Outline practical steps and initiatives that can be taken to realize our shared vision for advancing chemical sciences education in collaboration with the broader campus and industrial community

The ChemEd Summit is hosted by the Integrative Sciences Initiative in partnership with the Departments of Chemistry and Molecular and Structural Biochemistry and under the auspices of the College of Sciences Dean’s Faculty Fellow Program.

• A generous gift from Skanska USA Building Incorporated provides a strong start to funding for NC State’s Integrative Sciences Building. The $125,000 founding commitment, made under the leadership of Executive Vice President and General Manager Mark Balling, will name Laboratory Rooms 169/171 in the building that will transform the sciences at NC State. An official groundbreaking ceremony took place in September 2023.

From the Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs

• The Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science is very excited to introduce the students and faculty mentors selected as part of the 2024 cohort of the Climate Leaders Program. The student/mentor teams are approaching climate change in innovative ways to improve agriculture, forest conservation, risks from infectious diseases, carbon capture/sequestration, energy hubs and alternative energy sources, flood modeling and flood mitigation/adaptation, landscape design, community engagement, public policy, and environmental justice and equity. The teams will work with their internship partners to develop solutions that mitigate and adapt to the challenges of climate change. Learn more about the teams and the Climate Leaders Program. Requests for Applications for the 2025 Climate Leaders Program cohort will open in Sep.r 2024. 
• NC State is an awardee of a ​​National Needs Fellowship from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), a division of the USDA. NIFA’s National Needs Fellowship program trains students for masters and/or doctoral degrees. Fellowships and Special International Study or Thesis/Dissertation Research Travel Allowances (IRTA) are specifically intended to support traineeship programs that encourage outstanding students to pursue and complete their degrees in areas where there is an identified national need for the developing scientific and professional personnel. Funds from the fellowships and IRTA awards are invested in graduate training and international experiential learning.

From the NC State University Libraries:

• Advocates and allies are essential promoters of a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in higher education and beyond. For many, there is a new awareness of issues associated with DEI and a growing desire to learn and engage. To support your efforts, the NC State University Libraries and the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity have created a curated list of resources to inform your inquiry, introspection, and engagement with this topic. Engaging with these resources will provide you with an opportunity to explore DEI and develop your narrative and understanding. This month’s featured topic is Linguistic Diversity, and you can find a list of resources here.

From the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative:

• Join us at 2 p.m. on Feb. 22 for the N.C. Plant Science Initiative’s BRIDGE Symposium. Interdisciplinary teams of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars from across NC State’s campus will present their ideas for research that would meet the needs of growers and those who work in Extension. Farmers, agents, industry professionals, commodity board members, faculty members and others will be present. The event will be held at the Plant Sciences Building on Centennial Campus.

From the Shelton Leadership Center:

• The Shelton Leadership Center is accepting student participant and volunteer staff applications for the 2024 Red Hat Shelton Challenge. The Red Hat Shelton Challenge is a six-day, residential program built on the Shelton Leadership Center’s core values – integrity, diversity, social responsibility and compassion – and is designed to help high school students enhance their capacities to become values-based leaders. This immersive program is designed to transform potential into real-world skills through mentorship, self-reflection and shared discovery.
  • The Shelton Challenge is seeking volunteers to fill instructor roles. All NC State employees are welcome to apply for this opportunity. By serving as an instructor, volunteers will gain insight into the management and facilitation of leadership development curriculum, participate in hands-on leadership skill-building activities, and work with emerging leaders of the next generation. Learn more about the instructor role and apply here.
  • For NC State students interested in participating in the Shelton Challenge, we are accepting applications for summer interns and Coach/Mentor/Trainers (CMTs) who will assist in the administrative, logistical, and programming elements of the Shelton Challenge. Learn more about the internship and CMT role here.
  • The Shelton Challenge program invites emerging leaders to be part of an engaged community for the week and participate in activities designed to teach leadership concepts. If you know of a high school student who is interested in leadership development, please consider passing the participant application along. Learn more about the 2024 Shelton Challenge program here.