Thank You to Those Who Serve and Have Served
(Photograph courtesy of Special Collections, NCSU Libraries)
May 2010
Catching Up with Chancellor Woodson
We spoke with Chancellor Randy Woodson a couple of weeks ago for a story we’re working on for the summer issue of NC State magazine. He took the time during our interview to answer several questions about his time at NC State since he officially began work here on April 5. In our new interview with him, he talks about the biggest challenges, what he’s learned, and his favorite NC State moments so far. (If you haven’t read our interview with Chancellor Woodson from our spring issue of NC State magazine, read that here.)
Chancellor Randy Woodson and his wife, Susan. (Photo by Vincent Walter)
Describe what your time as chancellor has been like so far.
It’s been fantastic. Part of it is that I felt like I did everything I could to be ready for this job by spending time here before I was officially in the position. Someone said to me yesterday, “You hit the ground running.” And I said, “You know, I think the ground was moving. I didn’t have any choice to start running.” It was like a treadmill and already turned on full speed. You’ve got to run. And the transition has been great. There are a lot of people to meet, and a lot of people to get to know. I’ve been around the state, and I’ve been meeting with alumni and faculty and staff and some leaders. It’s been fantastic.
What’s some of the best advice you’ve received?
You get a lot of advice. Probably one of the best pieces of advice is to take the time to get to know the culture of the university and the people of the university so you can understand the context before final decisions are made; so I’m working hard to do that.
Students Design Prototypes of Products to Aid Disabled
NC State News Services has an interesting rundown of senior design projects by NC State textile engineering students. The students worked in teams this year to design prototypes of products for people with disabilities.
They partnered with local members of the disabled community to determine textile solutions for problems facing those with disabilities — from a more comfortable wheelchair to a new shoe-tying system. And to come up with solutions, many students got a hands-on research experience.
Their prototypes are impressive and include two new types of wheelchairs, systems to help disabled people with everyday tasks such as buttoning a shirt and a “sensing vest that assists the visually impaired with walking by providing discrete vibrations when an object is in its path.” Scott Ryan ’10 explains the vest in the above video.
Chancellor Woodson Visits Greenville Area
Board of Trustees chair Lawrence Davenport ’65 hosted a chancellor welcome event this week at his farm near Greenville. Check out our photos from it here.
We have more chancellor welcome events scheduled, including gatherings in Raleigh, Greensboro and Wilmington. Join us for one and help to welcome Chancellor Randy Woodson to the NC State family. Check out our calendar for more information.
Coaches’ Corner Honoring Yow Completed
In the spring issue of NC State magazine, we told you about the Coaches’ Corner, the garden planned for a space next to Reynolds Coliseum that would honor former NC State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow. The student-led initiative was completed this spring, with the help of dozens of student volunteers.
Below, we’ve included photos of the garden and the bust of Kay Yow. After the jump, you can find the article from our spring magazine.
From the Archives: E.S. King Village Turns 50
E.S. King Village in 1960. (Photo courtesy of Special Collections, NCSU Libraries)
NC State will celebrate the 50th anniversary of E.S. King Village this afternoon. Here are five facts about the housing community for married students located on the west side of campus:
- It was built in 1959.
- It was originally called the Married Student Housing Development.
- It consists of 17 buildings and 295 apartments.
- When it opened, there were about 1,585 students at NC State who were married – one-fourth of the student body.
- It was renamed for Edward S. King, general secretary of the YMCA from 1919 to 1959, in the 1970s.
Did you live in E.S. King Village? If so, share your memories of living there by leaving a comment. Two more photos from the housing community are after the jump.
NC State Stormchasers Once Again in Midwest
Last spring we mentioned in this entry that a group of NC State students and Matthew Parker, an associate professor marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, were spending a month in the Midwest studying tornadoes. They cataloged their storm-chasing trip in the blog, Wolfpack in the Vortex. Just recently—on May 1—Parker and another set of students headed out to Oklahoma for another storm-chasing trip they’ve dubbed Vortex2. They’re blogging again about their trip and what they learn about tornadoes at wolfpackvortex.blogspot.com, as well as for the WRAL WeatherCenter. They’ve posted three entries so far on WRAL.com, and here’s a snippet from an entry that doctoral student Casey Letkewicz posted this morning.
The combination of the fast-moving storms, high moisture content (which means low cloud bases), topography of the area (there’s a surprising number of trees and hills in that part of Oklahoma), and my position with respect to the armada, meant that I was unable to see any of the tornadoes that occurred during yesterday’s outbreak. While that was slightly frustrating (I mean, I am a stormchaser who wants to be where the action is), I’m trying to keep in mind a few things: 1) I’m out here for science, not for touring. I helped collect an unprecedented data set on an outbreak of tornadic storms! 2) Many other teams were not in desirable positions, either, so I was not the only one who missed out. 3) I’m out here for a few more weeks, so there’ll be plenty more chances to be closer to the action. And most importantly 4) I was never in harm’s way the entire day, so I need to be thankful that I wasn’t hurt (nor was anyone else in the VORTEX2 armada!). Unfortunately, there’s been several reports of fatalities and many many homes destroyed. Please pray for those adversely affected by this outbreak.
Follow Vortex2 at wolfpackvortex.blogspot.com and WRAL.com.
Revisiting the Plaque from Iran
Last summer, we posted as a Photo of the Day an image from 1966 of Harry Kelly, then the dean of faculty, with a copper plaque featuring the chancellor’s seal. An Iranian alumnus had given the plaque as a gift to Chancellor John T. Caldwell. Readers on our blog and Facebook page were curious about its current whereabouts. After a little legwork, we found out that it was hanging in Primrose Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus, and we snapped this photo:
Fast foward to this weekend. Rafi Javid ’57, the alumnus who gave the plaque, ran across our Photo of the Day and sent us this comment:
I, Rafi Javid, am the one who presented the plaque to the Chancellor Caldwell in 1966, when I visited the N.C. State for the first time after my graduation in 1957. I was on a business trip to the U. S. and I thought it would be a very small token of my appreciation for what this school offered me and taught me for my future life. Mr. Caldwell was very kind and invited me to a very nice luncheon with the members of Dormitory Council and Student Advisers, where I presented the plaque.
Two to three years later, when I came back to the U.S. and visited the school, the plaque was still hanging on the wall of the Chancellor’s office. I really would like to know where it is now.
I had the seal of the N.C. State to be enlarged and took to Isfahan, (Iran) to be engraved by the most well known artist on copper and then silver plated. The artist put my name and my graduation date at the lower part of the plaque. I am so glad I did so!!
Thank you for the beautiful gift and for sharing your story, Mr. Javid.
Former Wolfpack Golfer Wins Players Championship
Congratulations to former Wolfpack golfer Tim Clark ’98. The South African won the Players Championship yesterday, picking up his first win on the PGA Tour. The PGA has a video interview here, and Mike McAllister, managing editor of pgatour.com, writes:
As he stood over his par putt on the 18th green at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday, his Srixon Z-Star ball 7 feet, 9 inches away from the pin, his long putter firmly tucked against his chest, his heart pounding and his nerves dancing, Tim Clark did his best to suppress the enormity of the situation.
While there was no guarantee this would be the putt to finally give him, in his 206th PGA TOUR start, that long-awaited first win, the South African knew. He knew this was a putt that could ultimately seal THE PLAYERS Championship. He knew this was a putt that could put to rest — finally — all those questions about whether he was made of championship material or was simply the perennial runner-up, the best player on TOUR without a victory, the feisty lovable undersized “pit bull,” as Greg Norman called him last year at the Presidents Cup.
Clark finished with a 16-under 272 and took home $1.71 million in prize money. You can check out his PGA Tour profile page here.
CVM Prof: Bartonella Can Be Passed from Mom to Child
More interesting research out of the College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Ed Breitschwerdt, a professor of internal medicine, has found that the bacteria Bartonella can be passed from mother to child, causing chronic illnesses and, possibly, birth defects. NC State News Services’ research blog, The Abstract, has more. A video about the research is below.
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