05.07.2012 | by Chris Saunders | Filed under College of Engineering, Sports | Comments: No responses |
Lambert and Sadler after the win in Bristol in March.
NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Elliott Sadler was standing around in the pit at Daytona International Speedway before the first race of the season in February. ESPN reporter and NC State alumnus Jerry Punch approached Sadler and told him he was about to have his best season ever as a driver. Sadler asked why, and Punch said, “Because you have a Wolfpacker as your crew chief.”
Punch was referring to Luke Lambert, who took over as Sadler’s crew chief at the start of this season and who graduated from NC State in 2005. So far Punch’s prediction has proven to be on the right track. Sadler has won two of the first eight races of the season, and his team, led by Lambert, sits in second place in the Nationwide points race, trailing leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by only five points.
Lambert says the team’s success hinges on how well he and Sadler communicate, making a comparison to another sport. “I pretty much equate it to being the head coach of a football team,” Lambert says. “People say the crew chief is the coach and the driver is the quarterback.”
Lambert from his days with Wolfpack Motorsports.
The Mount Airy, N.C., native says he knew he always wanted to work in NASCAR, growing up going to races at the Bristol Motor Speedway with his father and racing go-karts. When Lambert studied mechanical engineering at NC State, he became heavily involved with Wolfpack Motorsports, a student-run program out of the College of Engineering that lets students build and race cars. He went straight to work for Richard Childress Racing, where he worked his way up the ladder. Then, in July 2011 at the age of 28, Lambert got the call to be the interim crew chief for Jeff Burton on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. “That was my goal from when I began wanting to get into racing,” Lambert says. “When the opportunity came, I knew it was going to be a challenge. I figured if I didn’t take it, I may never get it again.”
His performance led him to being named Sadler’s crew chief this season, and early in 2012, the two captured wins at Phoenix and at Bristol, Lambert’s favorite track to visit as a kid. Success has been quick for the two, who have an off-the-track rivalry. Sadler is a longtime UNC fan, and he took Lambert to Chapel Hill earlier this year when the State played UNC in basketball. But Sadler says having a Wolfpacker and a Tar Heel working so well together is pretty easy when you get right down to who they are. “I think we’re both from a small town,” Sadler says. “We both have a little chip on our shoulder. We both have common sense. We both feel like we’re on the same page.”
And Lambert hopes those similarities, along with some planning, continue to produce victories and ultimately a championship in 2012 for the OneMain Financial Chevrolet team. “We’re racing for three months ahead,” Lambert says. “That includes the decisions that we’re making at the shop everyday. Not deviating dramatically from anything. And just keeping everybody motivated, too.”
05.04.2012 | by Bill Krueger | Filed under Alumni News, College of Textiles, NC State People | Comments: No responses |
Alan Thomas Dickson, a 1953 NC State graduate who helped build a Fortune 500 company that included Harris Teeter Supermarkets, died on Thursday after a fight with small-cell lung cancer. He was 81.
Dickson studied textiles at NC State, and maintained his connection to the university throughout his life. Dickson served on the NC State Board of Trustees and as president of the North Carolina Textile Foundation. In 1993, Dickson was recognized as the College of Textiles Distinguished Alumnus and, in 1996, NC State awarded Dickson the Watauga Medal, its highest nonacademic award. In 2001, Dickson was awarded an honorary degree from NC State.
“Alan Dickson was a great friend to NC State all of his adult life,” said Bob Barnhardt, president of the Alumni Association and former dean of the College of Textiles.
Barnhardt said everyone listened when Dickson asked questions during meetings of the Textile Foundation board. “Everybody admired his abilities and his strategic way of thinking,” Barnhardt said. “They wanted to hear what he had to say.”
After earning an MBA degree from Harvard University, Dickson served for two years in the U.S. Army. He then returned to his home of Charlotte to work for American & Efird Mills. In 1968, Dickson and his brother Stuart founded Ruddick Corporation, which evolved into a holding company that owned Harris Teeter Supermarkets, American & Efird Mills and other companies. Ruddick Corporation changed its named to Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. earlier this year after selling American & Efird.
Barnhardt said Dickson was a savvy reader of financial sheets, and knew when to buy and sell companies. He said Dickson was among the first in the textiles industry to sell thread overseas when manufacturing started to shift out of the United States.
“He was overseas selling yarn many years before anyone else,” Barnhardt said.
Dickson was the first president of the American Yarn Spinners Association and served as a director of the Combed Yarn Spinners Association and the N.C. Textile Manufacturers Association.
But for all his business prowess — he was elected to the N.C. Business Hall of Fame in 2002 — Dickson never forgot the good times he had as a student at NC State. Barnhardt recalled Dickson once telling a story of his days in a fraternity, and his assignment as a pledge to steal a suckling pig.
“He assured us he got it back to the mother,” Barnhardt said.
Dickson was active in community affairs in Charlotte, serving in volunteer leaderships positions for groups such as Central Piedmont Community College, the Mint Museum of Art and Presbyterian Hospital. He helped lead the effort to establish and fund the U.S. National Whitewater Center on the Catawba River.
Dickson is survived by his wife, Mary Anne Dickson; stepdaughter, Chase Avery Wood and her husband, Hubie, and their children, Catie and Hubert; stepson Chris Avery and his wife, Beth, and their children, Meg and O’Neal; a brother and two sisters. Dickson was preceded in death by his wife, Lindsay Morehead Dickson.
A memorial service will be held at Christ Episcopal Church, 1412 Providence Road, Charlotte, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 5, followed by a reception in All Saints Hall.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to The Linville Foundation, P.O. Box 99, Linville, N.C., 28646, or to the Leadership Scholarship Program, U.S. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Parkway, Charlotte, N.C. 28214.
05.04.2012 | by Bill Krueger | Filed under Alumni Association News, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Faculty News | Comments: No responses |
The Alumni Association honored 21 NC State professors Thursday for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Jennifer L. Campbell, a professor of biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Campbell is one of seven professors being recognized with Outstanding Teacher Awards.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? Well, much of what I would have said is already written in Jan Spears’ article unfortunately. I’ll try to be original! I agree with her 100% that flexibility and relevance are essential to successful teaching. You must be unafraid to change course as appropriate and keep your message, materials, and the work you require of them current if you want students to remain engaged and invested in the course. I also believe that the more of the course your students “own,” so to speak, the better quality their work will be and the more they will retain from it. To that end, it is important to encourage collaboration - in a sense turning the classroom into a group focused on some common goal.
It’s important to be kind and compassionate while challenging students to think more deeply, work harder, and keep a clear focus of their goals — both immediate and long term. In my class I try to create an atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable speaking out about difficult issues. I do this so that students can both better understand and clarify their own thoughts on a particular subject while at the same time acknowledging the often opposing views of others. I also make it clear that it is okay not to have a “right” answer, and in fact for many of the issues we tackle, no right answer exists. Once freed of fear of saying the wrong thing, we can all work together to learn.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? I have been teaching long enough now that I have seen several students go on to graduate school or enter the work force. While that in and of itself gives me satisfaction, honestly what makes me feel the greatest sense of accomplishment is when they contact me via email or find me on Facebook to check in and let me know how things are going, or simply send me a link to a news article connected to the course materials I taught them that “they thought I should show to the students.” To me that means that the seeds of information I planted however many years ago are still there, still having an impact, still making them think.
05.03.2012 | by Bill Krueger | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments: No responses |
Chancellor Randy Woodson and the Alumni Association honored 21 NC State professors this afternoon for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field.
In a ceremony at the Park Alumni Center, Woodson described the university’s faculty as the “cornerstone of NC State’s growth and the cornerstone of our success.”
Chancellor Randy Woodson chats with two of the winners during a reception after the awards ceremony
“Our faculty strive to instill in our students a passion for learning, an appreciation for collaboration and a driving need to achieve and lead in the careers that stretch out ahead of them as they leave NC State,” he said.
“Through a myriad of teaching tools, our faculty stimulate our students to think beyond what they already know to solve problems, answer complex questions, participate in intriguing discussions and create functional and beautiful designs.”
Bob Barnhardt, president of the Alumni Association and a former dean of the College of Textiles, noted that the Alumni Association has given out Faculty Awards at NC State for 40 years.
“Our faculty teaches the students who will shape tomorrow,” he said. “They ignite the curiosity of students, feed their thirst for knowledge and teach the value of collaboration and cooperation.”
The winners of the 2012 Faculty Awards are:
Alumni Association Distinguished Undergraduate Professors
- D. Barry Croom | Department of Agricultural and Extension Education | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Jeffrey A. Joines | Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science | College of Textiles
- John R. Meyer | Department of Entomology | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Craig M. Newmark | Department of Economics | College of Management
- Maria Oliver-Hoyo | Department of Chemistry | College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
- John K. Townsend | Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering | College of Engineering
Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Professors
- Y. Richard Kim | Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering | College of Engineering
- Hiller A. Spires | Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Counselor Education | College of Education
Alumni Association Outstanding Research Awards
- Edward Bealmear Breitschwerdt | Department of Clinical Sciences | College of Veterinary Medicine
- Jon-Paul Maria| Department of Material Science Engineering | College of Engineering
- Ann Helen Ross| Department of Sociology and Anthropology | College Humanities and Social Sciences
Alumni Association Outstanding Extension and Outreach Awards
- Jay F. Levine | Department of Population Health and Pathobiology | College of Veterinary Medicine
- Donald E. Thrall | Department of Molecular Biomedical Science| College of Veterinary Medicine
- Grady L. Miller |Department of Crop Science | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Alumni Association Outstanding Teacher Awards
- Jennifer L. Campbell | Department of Biology | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Martha L. Crowley | Department of Sociology and Anthropology | College of Humanities and Social Sciences
- Jessica T. DeCuir-Gunby | Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Counselor Education | College of Education
- Michael D. Dickey | Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering | College of Engineering
- Scott M. Ferguson | Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering | College of Engineering
- David W.W. Jones | Department of Agricultural and Extension Education | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Shevaun Neupert | Department of Psychology | College of Humanities and Social Sciences
05.03.2012 | by Bill Krueger | Filed under Alumni News, Sports | Comments: No responses |
Marc Johnson was a Wolfpacker long before he became the leader of the Wolf Pack, having been a student and a professor at NC State.
But the new president of the University of Nevada, Reno, knows better than to pick against his new school and the name for its athletics teams when asked whether Wolfpack should be one word (NC State) or two (Nevada). Johnson says his favorite mas cot (Shouldn’t that be one word?) these days is the Wolf Pack.
“Definitely, since I’m employed in Nevada now, it should be two,” Johnson told us this week by telephone.
But Johnson was quick to add that he will still cheer for NC State’s Wolfpack whenever it squares off against the likes of UNC or Duke. “Absolutely,” he says. “NC State is one of my alma maters.”
Johnson grew up in Kansas and did his undergraduate studies at what is now known as Emporia State University in Kansas. But he was drawn to NC State by the chance to be involved with a program that studied science and its place in society, with instructors who were scientists and theologians from NC State, UNC and Duke. In 1971, Johnson earned a master of technology degree in international development.
Johnson returned to NC State in 1978 as a member of the faculty in the Department of Economics and Business. His position was half research and half extension, giving him the opportunity to explore North Carolina. “I know it’s a 13-hour drive from the Outer Banks to Cherokee County,” he says. “It’s a beautiful state.”
While he was not yet thinking about becoming a university president, Johnson got his first taste of university administration at NC State, serving as an associate department head. Johnson says he enjoyed the opportunity to work with other faculty members and help them develop plans to improve their career paths. He left NC State in 1985 to become a department head at Kansas State University.
Johnson followed Wolfpack athletics during his time at NC State, easily recalling the national championship the men’s basketball team won in 1983. “I was a fan of the Wolfpack,” he says. “They were doing so well during my years there, so it was exciting.”
Johnson is now president of the University of Nevada, Reno, having been named to the post in April after serving as interim president since last April. Like NC State, the University of Nevada is a land-grant institution, a role that Johnson takes seriously.
“There’s a balance between basic research and applied research,” Johnson says. “We have the ability to take research from basic to applied and then carry it out to businesses and community members who can use the results of that research. We have all the responsibilities of a regular arts-and-sciences university, plus doing problem-solving research.”
And, like NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson, Johnson has to be strategic about how to make sure the university excels in difficult budget times. That requires university leaders, Johnson says, to focus their efforts on a handful of areas of study, research and outreach.
“Whatever resources you can get,” he says, “you have to support depth and real impact in the fields you have chosen to maintain.”
05.03.2012 | by Bill Krueger | Filed under Alumni Association News, College of Engineering, Faculty News | Comments: No responses |
The Alumni Association will honor 21 NC State professors this afternoon for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Michael Dickey, an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering in the College of Engineering. Dickey is one of seven professors being recognized with Outstanding Teacher Awards.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? I think caring goes a long way. I chose this profession because I wanted to make a difference in the lives of students. On a more pragmatic level, I make a significant effort to create engaging lectures by using active learning principles and by trying to relate material to the diverse interests and learning styles of the students in the class. Finally, I have had very good mentors (including my parents) who have helped me improve as a teacher.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? Seeing students succeed and seeing the ‘light bulb’ turn on both give me great satisfaction!
05.02.2012 | by Bill Krueger | Filed under Alumni Association News | Comments: No responses |
The Alumni Association is throwing a birthday party for NC State. Actually, we’re throwing several parties — for alumni all over the country.
Alumni Association staffers will be criss-crossing the country in May and June to help alumni get together to celebrate NC State’s 125th birthday. It will be a chance for alumni to get an update on the latest news from NC State and get to know other Wolfpackers who live near them. And, yes, there will be birthday cakes, hats and balloons.
The parties kick off next week with stops in Austin, San Diego, Denver and Charleston. In June, Alumni Association staffers will be hosting parties in Phoenix, San Francisco, Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville and Tampa, and other stops may be added to the schedule.
And for those areas we aren’t able to visit, the Alumni Association will provide network volunteer leaders with a “Birthday in a Box,” with all the supplies they need to throw their own 125th birthday party for NC State.
Happy Birthday, NC State!
05.02.2012 | by Bill Krueger | Filed under Alumni Association News, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Faculty News | Comments: No responses |
The Alumni Association will honor 21 NC State professors on Thursday for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with David W.W. Jones, an assistant professor of agricultural and extension education in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Jones is one of seven professors being recognized with Outstanding Teacher Awards.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? It has always been my top priority as a teacher to build relationships with my students. I personally believe that the foundation of life is relationships. As a teacher we spend a great deal of time with our students and we have the opportunity to influence and impact lives. By getting to know what students want, feel and need, it allows me the opportunity to help fulfill those needs. As we go through our lives we will continue to create relationships. These relationships include our co-workers, significant others in our lives, our children and our friends. The best teachers in my life have always been those individuals that I had the strongest relationship with.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? My greatest satisfaction as a professor has come from watching my students leave my courses and go out and share what they have thought about during my courses. When I get a note from one of my former students mentioning an assignment that changed their lives or influences their attitude it makes me smile. One of my assignments early in the Introduction to Leadership course is for the student to work diligently for one week to have a, “Tigger Day” every day. A “Tigger Day” is one of those days where nothing can go wrong … everything is OK. It’s a mind set to look at ALL activities in a positive way. It is an activity that years later students come up to me and tell me their having a “Tigger Day” and smile. It’s a great day for me when someone tells me to have a “Tigger Day” because I realize that I’ve influenced others in a positive way.
05.01.2012 | by Bill Krueger | Filed under Alumni Association News, College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Faculty News | Comments: No responses |
The Alumni Association will honor 21 NC State professors on May 3 for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Maria Oliver-Hoyo, an associate professor of chemical education in the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. Oliver-Hoyo is one of six professors being recognized as Distinguished Undergraduate Professors.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? Listening to students and to yourself … The moment an educator thinks he/she has all the answers, effectiveness is lost. Listening to what students have to say should trigger reflection about our own practices. The teaching process is the ultimate learning experience and learning is an endless process.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? There is nothing like witnessing a student’s “Aha” moment or receiving communication from a former student letting you know how they are doing.
05.01.2012 | by Bill Krueger | Filed under NC State History, Student Media | Comments: No responses |
NC State has long been heavy on science, mathematics and technology. But even scientists need a creative outlet, right?
On this day in 1964, the inaugural issue of Windhover was released to address such concerns. Windhover is NC State’s annual literary and visual magazine. The most recent issue was released last month.
The Windhover was not published from 1970-73, according to the journal’s website. A creative writing class at NC State published three issues of The Whole Thing, a similar literary journal, in 1974.
In 2001, NC State magazine wrote about Windhover and its success in collegiate press contests.
“There are always two ways to read something, and Windhover encourages the average reader to go beyond surface value,” said Emily Townley, who was then the editor of Windhover.
“A lot of times (at a science and technology university), we want to quantify everything, and we appreciate only the empirical data that come our way. But it’s really important for us to stretch our minds and work on pursuing other avenues of thought.”
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