The NC State Board of Trustees met July 15 at the Park Alumni Center to welcome new members to the board and discuss changes in academic degree programs.
The board named Jim Owens the new chair. New members sworn in included Khari Cyrus, student body president, Robert Andrews, Ann Goodnight, Stanhope Kelly and Dewayne Washington.
Chancellor Randy Woodson said at the meeting that the board is searching for a new dean of the College of Textiles, Poole College of Management, College of Education and a vice chancellor of finance and administration.
The board will also be looking to hire in eight new faculty clusters.
The meeting announced the following changes to degree programs at NC State:
Creation of a dual degree in physics and electrical engineering in partnership with North Carolina Central University
Joint degree program in biomedical engineering with UNC-Chapel Hill
Merging the Department of Curriculum Instruction and Counselor Education with the Department of Elementary Education and renaming it as the Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences
Renaming Department of Leadership Policy and Developed Education to the Department of Educational Leadership Policy and Human Development, and it will absorb the counseling faculty
Discontinuing the master of education, science and business, marketing education, Ph.D in counselor and counseling education and Ph.D in science education programs
Renaming the Ph.D in curriculum and instruction to the Ph.D in teacher education and learning sciences.
Renaming the Ph.D in education research policy and analysis to the Ph.D in educational leadership policy and human analysis
Renaming the Ph.D in math education to the Ph.D in learning and teaching in science, technology and mathematics
Creating a doctorate in design and a master’s of forensic sciences program
“It’s not just about changing the names of these programs,” said Duane Larick, senior vice provost for academic strategy and resource management. “This comes with curricular innovation. It’s more efficient and brings a more diverse group of students together in the classroom.”
Students already enrolled in a degree program that is getting renamed or discontinued have the option of continuing that degree or moving to the new degree.
Woodson said he hopes to interest more minorities in the STEM disciplines. Students studying physics at NCCU can transfer to NC State after two years where they will study electrical engineering for three additional years. Students will earn two degrees in physics from NCCU and electrical engineering from NC State.
The doctorate in design will be a practitioner degree for professionals that will complement the Ph.D in design. The doctorate will target professionals in architecture, graphic design, industrial design and landscape architecture. Currently, the only other doctorate offered by NC State is the doctorate of veterinary medicine.
The masters of forensic sciences is part of the initiative to establish an institute of forensic sciences.
The First Year College was also recently reorganized into what’s now the “University College.” This brings together FYC programs with ROTC and physical education faculty. A number of interdisciplinary certificate programs and the interdisciplinary degree in environmental science will be housed in the college. Mike Mullen, vice chancellor for the division of academic and student affairs, will be the dean of University College.
Woodson also spoke about the incoming class of 2019. The 452 students have an average SAT score of 1243, ACT score of 27.6 and GPA of 4.44. The class also has an all-time high of female students, consisting of 48 percent of the entire class.
“This is exciting on a number of fronts,” Woodson said.
