November 2025 Announcements

• NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill are teaming up once again for the Pantry Bowl. This friendly competition will see which university can receive the most monetary gifts to their campus food pantry. The Pantry Bowl is underway and runs through Nov. 30. Visit pantrybowl.com to make a gift to NC State’s Feed the Pack Food Pantry, and help us bring home our fourth consecutive win.

From the Office of Academic Strategy, Innovation and Solutions

• The Office of Academic Strategy, Innovation and Solutions is launching the Microcredentials Community of Practice on Monday, Nov. 17, from 1- p.m. ET on Zoom – sign up here. This Community of Practice is for all faculty and staff members who share a common interest in developing and growing microcredentials (non-degree credentials) in a supportive learning environment through ongoing peer interaction. 

From the Climate and Sustainability Academy:

• Save the Date! Join us in celebrating the Climate and Sustainability Academy’s one-year anniversary on Dec. 2, from 5–7 p.m. at the Gregg Museum of Art and Design. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres, beer, wine, and the chance to connect with friends and colleagues while reflecting on CaSA’s first year and campus-wide climate and sustainability efforts. We’ll also highlight student projects from across the academy. While you’re here, enjoy the museum’s featured exhibits In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers and The Halls of a Changing Sea. This event is open to all—come celebrate with us!

• The Sustainable Futures Fellows Program is now accepting applications! NC State students eager to imagine, explore and develop sustainable solutions are encouraged to apply to the Sustainable Futures Fellows program, launching Jan. 12, 2026. This program engages interdisciplinary student teams in a unique 15-week exploration of the sustainability challenges and opportunities across key sectors of the economy, such as energy, agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, transportation and more. Earn a $1,600 stipend while working with interdisciplinary student teams. Learn more and apply by Nov. 15.

From the Division of Academic and Student Affairs:

• When the NC State Career Development Center launched the Rural Works! program in 2018, the idea was simple but ambitious: connect students with meaningful, paid internships in rural communities while helping local employers build the talent pipelines to thrive. Seven years later, that vision has grown into a statewide success story — one that just earned national recognition.

This month, Rural Works! was named the 2025 University Economic Development Association Award of Excellence winner in the Talent Development category. The honor celebrates university-led programs that strengthen local economies and prepare students for the workforce.

From DELTA:

• DELTA is always looking for ways to bridge technology, creativity and education, and one of DELTA’s postdoc scholars, Alin Yalcinkaya, is doing just that. Learn more about how Alin is building a framework for XR literacy that empowers educators to use immersive tools with purpose and confidence.
• Registration is now open for the next Career Catalyst Conversations webinar, presented by NC State Continuing and Lifelong Education. Join Divya Parekh, Influence Architect, on Dec. 3 at 11 a.m. for “The Confidence Edge: Assertive Communication for Career Growth.” Learn practical frameworks to communicate with clarity, confidence and impact.

From the Office for Faculty Excellence:

• Are you a professional faculty member at NC State looking to maximize your career growth, navigate the unique challenges of your role, and build a powerful network? Do you want to feel more connected to professional faculty from around the university? Is there advice you want to share with or receive from others in the professional track? Do you want to be more connected to resources and tools specific to the professional track?  If so, sign up for the Professional Faculty Learning Community at NC State. The first meeting will be held on Nov. 21 from noon-1p.m. via Zoom. 
• The Office for Faculty Excellence (OFE), DELTA and the NC State University Libraries invite faculty, postdoctoral scholars and professional staff to submit session and poster proposals for the 2026 NC State Conference on Faculty Excellence, which will be held March 5, 2026 at Talley Student Union.
• OFE is seeking applications for NC State faculty leaders to participate in the 2026 ACC Academic Leaders Network (ALN) program. The ACC ALN is designed to facilitate cross-institutional networking and collaboration among academic leaders while building leadership capacity for the participating institutions.
• Faculty Conversation: Engaging Students in Office Hours: Supports, Barriers and Solutions will take place Thursday, Nov. 20 from 2-3 p.m. via Zoom. Office hours are one of the primary settings for student-instructor interactions outside of the classroom and provide a space for academic support, professional development, mentoring and more. However, office hours are often underutilized by students. Led by guest presenter Jeremy Hsu from Campbell University, this workshop is designed to empower educators to design and implement strategies to promote student engagement in office hours, creating a more equitable space.

From the Office of Equal Opportunity:

• The Equal Opportunity Forum will take place on Nov. 18. The Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) is hosting a day-long forum for the NC State community to promote awareness, enhance skills and uphold compliance in areas related to equal opportunity, accommodations, digital accessibility and well-being. The in-person event is at capacity, but all are invited to join virtually for the keynote session with Ann Knettler, vice president of consulting for GrackleDocs (noon-1 p.m.) and the Digital Accessibility plenary session with Rebecca Sitton, digital accessibility coordinator for the Office of Information Technology (starting at 1:05 p.m.) live on OEO’s YouTube Channel.
• The Raleigh Commission for Persons with Disabilities Excellence in Education Award recognizes individuals who expand access to academic enrichment and learning opportunities for people with disabilities. This year’s recipient, Taylor Ofori, has transformed educational access at NC State through her visionary leadership and tireless advocacy. Beginning as a part-time interpreter, Taylor identified the need for greater coordination and support for Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind students, and went on to establish the university’s Deaf Services Department. Under her leadership, the program has grown significantly, expanding interpreter teams, doubling the number of Deaf students supported and advancing inclusive policies such as picture-in-picture livestreaming to ensure statewide accessibility. Taylor has also built pathways for future interpreters by creating internship programs and advocating for the development of an ASL program on campus. Her work prioritizes the lived experiences of the Deaf community while bridging gaps in access, equity and inclusion.

From the Office of Global Engagement:

• NC State Global is celebrating its 25th annual International Education Week Nov. 17-21, 2025. At NC State, this week’s events demonstrate our dedication to global learning and celebrate the value of international education and exchange.

From the Global One Health Academy

• The Global One Health Academy is pleased to announce that applications are now open for the Master of Science in Global One Health. This program trains students in applied problem-solving for current and future health challenges in North Carolina, the United States and the world. For full consideration, applications should be submitted by the priority deadline of Feb. 28, 2026. Rolling applications will continue to be accepted after the priority deadline if space allows.
• Each year, the Global One Health Academy funds an exceptional group of graduate students with One Health-related research interests. During their one-year appointment, the Global One Health Fellows are offered many opportunities, such as professional development workshops, networking with One Health professionals and more! Learn more about 2024-25 Global One Health Fellows Ben Clark and Bradley Scholten and how GOHA helped advance their important One Health research through their spotlights!
• The Global One Health Academy is pleased to announce the recipients of their GCAP Food-Water Interface and Local Engagement Seed Grants supporting NC State students, postdocs, staff, and faculty in their One Health-related projects!
• The Global One Health Academy, along with the NC State European Center in Prague, are excited to share that applications are now open for the Global One Health Applications Summer 2026 Study Abroad program. This program applies the One Health framework to real-world global health challenges through field-based learning and interdisciplinary engagement. Students will explore the cultural and historical context of the Czech Republic through guided tours and discussions with local experts. Students are encouraged to apply for a scholarship and submit an application by the early action deadline of Nov. 15.

From the Office of Information Technology:

• Digital forms are the gateways of the web. We use forms to request services, apply for jobs and communicate with organizations. Learn why form accessibility is important and how to set yourself and users up for success.
• The Khayrallah Center built a machine learning model to grow its Arab American Newspaper Database. See how the Research Facilitation Service helped them find no-cost computing and storage resources to support the growth.
• Join OIT for December’s IT Quick Hall on December 11 at 11:30 a.m. as we welcome Rebecca Sitton, University Digital Accessibility Coordinator. Sitton will provide an overview of the new ADA Title II rule and its impact on all of our work. 

From the Institute for Emerging Issues:

• IEI has opened registration for the 2026 Emerging Issues Forum: Future Forward Water. The forum will take place on Feb. 25, 2026, in Asheville, Winston-Salem and Morehead City, North Carolina. It will also mark 40 years of the Emerging Issues Forum. Get your tickets at the discounted rate of $150 now through Nov. 24. Students can attend for $50. 
• Bridging the Digital Divide in Western NC is the first installment in a series of profiles from IEI’s Financial Resilience Cohort. This features Through the Trees Executive Director Yvette Brooks, who shares how her team is helping to bridge the digital divide in Western North Carolina and beyond.
• The latest episode of The Connector Podcast explores North Carolina’s new digital skills standards. IEI Digital Opportunities Initiative Lead Jess Epsten sits down with digital opportunity experts from NC State’s Friday Institute and the NC Department of Information Technology to explore the newly released NC Digital Skills Standards, a framework to connect North Carolinians across the digital divide. 

From Institutional Effectiveness:

• NC State has reached a student success milestone. Read about NC State’s record high four-year graduation rate and other highlights from the latest updates to strategic plan metrics in this month’s Implementation Insights. Implementation Insights is a regular article series with initiative updates and cross-cutting observations from NC State’s implementation plan. 
• Ready to get your High-Impact Experience Packways Recognized and earn benefits like eligibility for student enrichment funding, a Credly badge, promotion on our website, and more? Faculty and staff who lead HIEs can now self-register for our workshops, where you’ll learn how to align your experience with our research-backed framework. Limited seats are available in our Dec 4 Packways ABCs in-person workshop, and unlimited registration is open for Packways Express, a fully online option designed for existing HIEs that need less support to align with the Packways framework. Info and registration are in the link.

From the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative:

• David Suchoff, of NC State’s Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, will soon take the reins of the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative’s Extension Outreach and Engagement Platform. The current platform director, Rachel Vann, departs at the end of November for a faculty position at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The platform’s role is to build connections that ensure that the N.C. PSI delivers knowledge and solutions that make a difference for farmers.

From the Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs:

• On Oct. 24, the Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs (OUIP), Institutional Effectiveness, and the Division of Academic and Student Affairs co-hosted Scaling Interdisciplinary Education: A Collaborative Retreat on Project-Based Learning in the Plant Sciences Building. The day-long retreat brought together more than 50 faculty, staff and students from across NC State’s colleges and interdisciplinary programs to explore ways to advance project-based learning (PBL) as a high-impact, interdisciplinary educational experience aligned with Wolfpack 2030: Powering the Extraordinary.

Through collaborative exercises, lightning talks and action-planning sessions, participants developed shared definitions, identified synergies across units and proposed actionable steps for scaling interdisciplinary PBL experiences that empower students to tackle complex, real-world challenges. The event was facilitated by Associate Vice Provost for Student-Centered Interdisciplinary Initiatives Levent Atici, Associate Dean of University College Holly Hurlburt and Quality Enhancement Plan Director Rebecca Sanchez, with opening remarks by Senior Vice Provost for University Interdisciplinary Programs Rob Dunn.

• On Oct. 4 OUIP piloted a new public outreach event called the Wolfpack STEM Tailgate. Nearly 30 NC State students, faculty and staff led hands-on science outreach activities during pre-game tailgating in the Fan Zone outside of Carter-Finley Stadium prior to the NC State vs. Campbell football game. The goals were to showcase NC State’s STEM research to the public by engaging them in fun, interactive science and engineering activities, and to provide NC State researchers with opportunities to practice their outreach skills while demonstrating how their work benefits the public and advances knowledge in their field.

The event included faculty, students and staff from College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Engineering and College of Sciences, as well The Science House and The Engineering Place (the K-12 outreach units of College of Sciences and College of Engineering, respectively). It was conceived of and organized by Jory Weintraub, director of science engagement for OUIP. “This was the first year that we’ve done this, but it was so successful that we hope to make it an annual event,” said Weintraub, who added “What better way to highlight NC State’s STEM research than at an event that draws up to 57,000 people from all across the state of North Carolina?”

• On Nov. 5, OUIP and the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative partnered to bring together NC State faculty, students and staff with representatives of several NC State and Triangle-based science museums and collections. This event was open to all NC State researchers and was an opportunity for them to learn about ways they could partner with the museums on opportunities to engage the public in STEM outreach. After brief presentations from each museum/collection to learn more about their missions and audiences, researchers had the opportunity to speak with museum representatives one-on-one to explore various ways they might work together on public engagement.

The participating museums included the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Museum of Life and Science, Marbles Kids Museum, Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, and several NC State museums/collections (NC State Insect Collection, NC State Vascular Plant Herbarium, the Larry F. Grand Mycological Herbarium and the Gregg Museum of Art and Design).

From NC State Sustainability:

• Celebrate student innovation at Make-A-Thon, NC State’s annual sustainability challenge. During this four-day challenge Jan. 22 – 25, student teams research, design, prototype and pitch a new solution that addresses a sustainability challenge. Campus and community experts will evaluate solutions and award cash prizes to the top teams. Students can register now for the 2026 Make-A-Thon at go.ncsu.edu/makeathon.