Administration Category
04.25.2012
Chancellor Randy Woodson is traveling to South Carolina today to meet with alumni in the Greenville/Spartanburg area. It is Woodson’s first chance to visit the area since becoming chancellor.
About 100 alumni and friends are expected to join Woodson and Benny Suggs, executive director of the Alumni Association, for an evening reception sponsored by Fluor, an engineering firm in the area.
Woodson will talk to the group about the latest news from campus, as well as his vision for NC State’s future. There may even be some talk about the new specialized NC State license plate that is now available from the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles.
04.23.2012
If you ask some of the stars from Willis Casey’s talented men’s swim teams of the 1960s what they remember about their coach, it’s not uncommon to hear about the disciplinarian in him.
“I can remember being thrown out of the pool and [Steve] Rerych thrown out of the pool,” says Pat Gavaghan ‘67, who was an All-American swimmer in 1965 and 1966. “…He didn’t think I was swimming hard enough.”
Casey’s swimmers say it was that discipline that led them to find the best within themselves. And that led to them doing their best for NC State, as the Wolfpack won or shared 16 Southern Conference and ACC championships in 30 years.
But it was on this day in in 1969 that Casey started down another successful path at NC State. He was promoted to athletics director, a post he would hold for 17 years, until 1986.
Willis Casey
As swim coach, Casey focused on building a program that could compete nationally with the other powerful programs at the time, like the University of Southern California. And when he found success, a national reputation and renowned recruits, many from the North, soon followed.
His disciplined approach didn’t change when he took over as athletics director.
“As a swimming coach, he was known as a legend before his time,” wrote Devin Steele in the 1986 Agromeck. “As an administrator, he was known as a financial wizard.”
Casey’s first task when he took over was to remedy an athletics program that was more than $100,000 in the red. And that debt grew even more as the construction of Carter-Finley Stadium, started in 1965, continued.
“Paying off Carter-Finley Stadium is credited mainly to Casey’s mastery of budget,” wrote Steele. The facility was to be paid for through gate receipts only, and under Casey’s leadership, that money was never used to supplement the overall budget. As a result, the stadium was paid for in 28 years ahead of schedule in 1979.
In the mid-1970s, Casey was instrumental in giving women’s sports a home at NC State when he hired Kay Yow as women’s basketball coach and coordinator of women’s athletics.
“When we started getting 1,800 to 2,000 women’s students, we knew we needed to start a women’s program,” Casey said in the 1986 Agromeck article. “…[W]e went before the Board of Directors and they decided to form six teams and finance 54 scholarships.” His hiring prowess was always celebrated because of his picking Yow, but he also hired Lou Holtz and Jim Valvano.
In 1992, Carmichael Gymnasium’s swimming complex was dedicated as the Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center.
04.17.2012
Thomas H. Stafford Jr., vice chancellor for student affairs, has always had an open door to student concerns. And he’s had fun along the way despite having to make difficult decisions. Stafford is set to retire at the end of June, and the Crafts Center is celebrating his 40 years of service to NC State with the exhibit, “A Fond Farewell to Dr. Stafford.”
The exhibit, which runs until May 11, features archived images and stories from The Technician and Agromeck and focuses on Stafford’s motto, “Students First.” Students, faculty, staff and friends are also invited to share their memories of Stafford as part of the exhibition.
If you have questions, please drop by the Crafts Center information desk or feel free to email them to Dusty Fletcher at dusty_fletcher@ncsu.edu.
04.12.2012
Need some help getting your lawn in shape? NC State has an app for that.
The university’s Turfgrass Program has launched the NCSU Lawn Care app, with all sorts of information on lawn care, grasses, pests and irrigation that should be useful to homeowners and commercial landscapers.
“When you’re outdoors, whether tending your own lawn or working on a golf course, for example, our app makes it easy to access critical lawn care information right when you need it,” says Charles Peacock, professor of crop science and leader of the app project. “It also answers timely questions about situations specific to North Carolina’s transitional lawn grasses.”
The app will take advantage of information on the Turfgrass Program’s popular TurfFiles website, and will have up-to-the-minute news alerts on issues ranging from turf pests to weather conditions.
The free app is available for iPhone, iPad and iPod. An android version is in development.
04.06.2012
Photo by Marc Hall.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Thomas H. Stafford’s day begins at 8 a.m. and reaches past the limits of 5 p.m. to the uncertain realm of “whenever.” We tagged along with Stafford, who will retire in June, on one of his “non-routine” routine days for an article in the Spring 2012 issue of NC State magazine. Click here to watch and join Stafford along for the ride.
Also, Stafford’s office in Holladay Hall doubles as a museum of the artifacts he’s collected in his life. Click to watch him give a tour of his office and reflect on his interests.
Videos by Minnie Bridgers and Brandon Joyner.
04.04.2012
We profiled a day in the life of Thomas H. Stafford Jr., who is retiring from his post as vice chancellor for student affairs in June, in our Spring 2012 issue of NC State magazine. We asked him to reflect on the places on campus that have become the most important to him during his tenure at NC State. Here are his six favorite spots:
1. 
Stafford is a walking encyclopedia of NC State history, and the place on campus that is most meaningful to him is the Memorial Bell Tower. He regularly gives tours, where he recounts the history of the landmark, something he hopes to continue in his retirement.
2. Holladay Hall not only houses his office, but it was the first building on campus. Stafford appreciates that symbolism and lines every tour group on the building’s steps to recreate a famous picture of NC State’s first freshman class, taken in the same spot in 1889.
3. The sports junkie in Stafford cherishes Reynolds Coliseum. The storied arena was the home to so many great memories, but he also appreciates it as the home to NC State women’s basketball and Kay Yow’s legacy.
4. One of the places he is most accessible is on his strolls through the Brickyard, where he chats with students.
Thompson Gymnasium in the 1920s. Photo Courtesy of NCSU Libraries.
5. Colleagues celebrate the vice chancellor’s eclectic tastes. He says his love for the arts has grown because of the plays he’s seen in University Theatre in Frank Thompson Hall. And he points out that in its previous life, Thompson Gymnasium was where “big-time college basketball started in the Southeast.”
6. While Stafford has overseen student affairs since 1983, many forget that he was a student himself when he attended graduate school at NC State in the mid-1960s. He and his wife, Judy, lived in Owen Residence Hall, which allowed married couples to live there. He might get in trouble at home if this one didn’t make the list.
04.02.2012
A cupcake given out at NC State's 125th birthday party.
Students, alumni, faculty and staff gathered this afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum to celebrate NC State’s 125th birthday. The party is one of several events planned for the yearlong celebration of the university’s anniversary.
“It’s always great to see students, but I look out and see faculty and staff,” said Liana Fryer, who works for NC State in the Office of Research and Innovation. “It’s a unifying experience.”
Reynolds did see some basketball, as the men’s team took the stage at the celebration. But the coliseum was mainly transformed from a basketball court into a dance floor as a the packed house “jumped around” to hip-hop beats. Some even hit the stage to dance, including Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Thomas H. Stafford Jr., who held a mask of Alexander Holladay, the university’s first president.
Chancellor Randy Woodson couldn’t be swayed. “The chancellor does not dance,” Woodson said.
Woodson did show off one of his talents when he took the stage with Old Man Whickutt, a North Carolina-based bluegrass and American roots band, and performed NC State’s fight song on guitar. After he performed, Woodson had advice for the crowd. “Plan on the future,” he told the audience. “Be bold in everything you do. And 125 years from now, we’ll be celebrating NC State.”
Old Man Whickutt also took the opportunity to perform its new song, “When Jesus Comes Back,” which celebrates State’s long-standing rivalry with UNC with such lines as: When Jesus comes back, I know that he will. He’ll save every city except Chapel Hill. When Jesus comes back, this is what he’s gonna do. He’ll paint the sky red, no more Carolina blue.
Jude Jackson, a sophomore from Jacksonville, N.C., said it was wonderful to be a part of the birthday bash and such an energetic salute to the university. “It’s just great to see NC State’s 125 years of history alive,” he said. “[NC State] is just a great place to be in a great city.”
But the event took time to reflect on NC State’s past and its commitment to the values as a land-grant institution. Instead of blowing out candles on a cake, the audience watched a video celebrating the university’s history and achievements.
The crowd gathers in Reynolds for NC State's 125th.
“I think of the mark of NC State and all of us graduates,” said Fryer, who earned her Ph.D. from NC State in 1996. She cited the roads that Wolfpack engineers have built and the innovations of textiles graduates. “Nobody wakes up in North Carolina without being touched by NC State in so many ways.”
03.14.2012
Three librarians from NCSU Libraries have been honored for using mobile technology to help students get acquainted with the wide variety of services and sources of information available at the library.
NC State librarians Anne Burke, Adrienne Lai and Adam Rogers were the 2012 recipients of the Association of College and Research Libraries College Libraries Section Pro Quest Innovation in College Librarianship Award for their work to develop the NCSU Libraries Mobile Scavenger Hunt. The award, from the American Library Association, honors members who have “demonstrated a capacity for innovation.”
Rather than follow a librarian on a traditional tour of the library or read a website in a computer lab, students can use the Mobile Scavenger Hunt to interact with the library, its staff and its websites. Teams of students played a fast-paced game that required them to take photos around the library and text information back to librarians.
Casie Fedukovich, associate director of the First-Year Writing Program at NC State, said the scavenger hunt engaged her students “on a level that led to increased understanding, deeper learning and almost complete recall of important library functions.”
03.07.2012
Happy Birthday, NC State!
It was on this day, 125 years ago, that Charles Dabney signed the legislation to create the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. That, of course, would later become what we now know as NC State.
Today also kicks off a yearlong celebration of the university’s 125th birthday. It will feature a birthday bash at Reynolds Coliseum on April 2, a bigger and better homecoming celebration this fall, the dedication of the Hunt Library on Centennial Campus and much more. There will even be a new flavor of Howling Cow ice cream.
It would be worth your while to take a few minutes to visit the university’s website on the 125th anniversary. While you’re there, be sure to check out the video that captures NC State’s tradition of excellence and the transformative nature of the work being done here.
Here at RedandWhiteforLife.com, we’ll be marking the year with periodic reminders of important, or fun, dates in NC State’s history. Stay tuned.
03.05.2012
Alex Webster, a bruising football player at NC State who went on to a stellar career as a fullback and coach for the New York Giants, died Saturday in Port St. Lucie, Fla. He was 80.
Webster was known as “Big Red” primarily because of his reddish hair, but he was also a big man who wore down opponents. At NC State, Webster played single-wing tailback, returned kicks and played in the secondary on defense for what was then known as State College. Webster still has the fifth longest punt return in school history — 86 yards against Wake Forest in 1951.
“He was a very good, very tough football player,” one of his teammates, Leon Simon, told gopack.com in 2010.
Webster, from Kearny, N.J., played at NC State from 1949-53, an era very different from today’s big stadiums, expansive locker rooms and state-of-the-art training facilities. Webster played at Riddick Stadium, where many players had rooms beneath the stands. Players wore leather helmets without face masks.
“I suffered a broken nose six times; it was just part of the game back then,” Webster told gopack.com. He said he didn’t get a face mask until his third year in the pros.
Only one of the four teams Webster played on at NC State had a winning record. Team stats were not kept during his first two seasons, but Webster rushed for 634 yards in 1951 and 459 yards in 1952.
Despite not being named an All-American or all-conference player, Webster was drafted by the Washington Redskins. After being cut by the Redskins, Webster played for two years in what was then known as Canada’s Big Four Football Union (including one in which he led the league in rushing and scoring) before signing with the New York Giants.
Webster rushed for 928 yards in 1961 and 743 yards in 1962 as a fullback for the Giants. He ran for 4,638 yards and 39 touchdowns during a 10-year career that included one NFL championship and two selections to the Pro Bowl. Webster’s rushing statistics still rank in the top five all-time for the Giants, according to The New York Times.
“He was so strong at 230-plus pounds that it was impossible to arm-tackle him,” former Giants star Frank Gifford noted in his memoir. “People either bounced off him or he ran over them. Every time he got the ball, he turned into a grinding machine.”
After his playing days, Webster worked as an assistant coach for the Giants for two years before becoming the team’s head coach in 1969. He was named National Football Conference coach of the year in 1970. Webster was inducted into the Giants’ Ring of Honor last year.
“Great days, and great teams,” Webster told The News & Observer in 1981.
Webster in 1966 photo
Webster resigned in 1973 when the Giants finished with one of the worst records in the NFL. “I’ve always been a winner,” Webster said at the time. “When you pull the pieces together like we thought we had this year, when you think you have something, it’s tough to accept losing.”
Webster fondly recalled his four years at NC State, where he met his wife, Louise, who died in 2010. When a reporter for The N&O caught up with Webster in 1981, after his playing and coaching days were over, Webster used the occasion to check on the Wolfpack.
“Hey, tell me about NC State,” he said. “I hear that the Pack’s undefeated. How do they look?”
Webster is survived by his daughter, Debbie Moberg of Point Pleasant, N.J.; his son, James Webster of Hobe Sound, Fla.; his brother, James Webster of Grand Rapids, Mich.; four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Harbor Place, 3700 SE Jennings Road, Port St. Lucie, Fla., 34952.
Visitation will be on Wednesday, March 7, from 10-11 a.m. in the chapel of Martin Funeral Home, Stuart, Fla., with a Celebration Service to begin at 11 a.m.
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