Spellings Wowed by NC State Visit

New UNC President Margaret Spellings took one last glance at the activity tracker on her wrist as she headed back to Holladay Hall—more than 10,000 steps on an illuminating tour of the largest campus in the university system.

It was the 12th visit she’s made to the state system’s 17 institutions, and she came away with a strong sense of NC State’s place in higher education.

“At the student meeting, they said something that I thought was perfect,” Spellings said. “This is a very pragmatic place. It’s all about getting it done, taking world-class research and translating it to real-world applications.

“这是一个面向解决方案,pragmatic institution.”

A highlight among the cutting-edge research she saw on her day-long listening tour was the work being done in the National Science Foundation-certifiedAdvanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies (ASSIST), where wearable technologies go way beyond counting steps.

That the multi-university center is led by a female engineering professor, Veena Misra, and is attracting a larger number of female students into an emerging field made a big impact on the system’s new leader, as she absorbed multiple demonstrations at the center’s home in the Monteith Engineering Research Center.

Spellings also saw the innovative work being done at the添加剂制造和物流中心，大量的3D打印机正在制定新的工艺，以创建用于大型工业制造目的和家用宠物的备件。

She saw the university’s past at Holladay Hall, its present at both the Hunt Library and the new Talley Student Union and how the past will become the future when the renovation at Reynolds Coliseum is completed in August.

At Hunt, she saw a demonstration of the famous bookBot, the student game lab, a digital history project that recreated a Martin Luther King speech in Durham and the naval training lab.

她说：“我喜欢图书馆。”“我会回来的。”

她在听力午餐时会见了与北卡罗来纳州百年纪念校园有联系的商业领袖，并与教职员工和学生会面，并在单独的听力会议上与学生会面。

And she came away wowed by what is being done at the state’s first land-grant university.

她的巡回演出总结说：“这是一个巨大的地方。”“显然，它提供了出色的教育，具有与工作场所相关的令人难以置信的机会，无论是在工程学还是政治学中，还是您的名字。”

Walking step-by-step with Spellings was NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson, showing off his school’s most compelling features like a proud father. And Spellings gave him credit for much of what she saw.

“All of this starts with a tremendous leader,” she said. “Show me a good leader and I’ll show you a good enterprise.”

Spellings said among the things she will take up with the General Assembly when it begins its short session in Raleigh next week was a pay increase for faculty and staff.

她说：“我和理事会的第一优先事项是员工和教职员工加薪。”“这已经很长时间了，我们处于超级竞争的环境中。没有好人，您将无法经营优秀的机构。

“我们在那里需要一些帮助。”

She also addressed media questions about North Carolina’s controversial HB2, a law that she says has “cast a chill on campus” and the recent federal appeals court ruling in Virginia that puts federal funding for schools with discriminatory policies in jeopardy.

Spellings enjoyed her meeting with student leaders and heard their thoughts and concerns, particularly about their passion for social change, their thoughts on diversity and inclusion and the overall learning atmosphere for a student body of more than 34,000.

她说：“他们是这里发生的事情的很好的代表。”“他们聪明而热情。他们彼此热情和相爱。

“The feel of the place is palpable.”

And that, she said, was her favorite part of the day, which also included a double scoop of Wolf Tracks Howling Cow ice cream.

“The students are always my favorite part of these tours,” she said. “They are why we are here. Without them, none of this would be possible or necessary.”