Chancellor James Oblinger is slated to give his second “State of N.C. State” address today. In accordance with the University’s 113th birthday this past Saturday, the Chancellor and others thought it to be a good time to reflect on the current successes of the University, Oblinger said.

 ”I will be highlighting some of the achievements of our alumni, the achievements of our faculty and administration, the achievements of our student athletes [and] the recognition they have won on and off their field of play, whether it’s a court or a field,” Oblinger said.

The “state of state” is measured by the University’s accomplishments in five key focus areas, “equally weighted” by Oblinger, delineated in his inaugural “State of N.C. State” address in September 2007. 

“The five focus areas deal with leadership, health and well-being, with energy and the environment, economic development, and educational innovation,” continued Oblinger.

The Chancellor will discuss “the need for nuclear power, therefore nuclear engineering as a field, the work we are doing with bio-energy [and] electric energy and [the freedom] center that is going to revolutionize the American home and American business as it relates to the electric grid in America, with regard to energy and the environment.”

“While it is nice to hear what the University is doing well, some would prefer to hear a bit more comforting words,” Dwayne Barnes, Honors Program Administrative Assistant said.

“I think looking at past accomplishments are good, but we also need to not look backwards, we need to look forward and see what is going to help us to maintain the college the way it is, being able to offer everything we have in the past to students, is to look at growth in the university and I think part of that is making sure the staff feels secure in their positions and in their divisions,” Barnes said.

Although the speech does center on the positives, this year’s address will also include N.C. State’s significance to North Carolina and to the nation as a whole as well as its role in continuing societal and technological advancements in the current economic situation.

Furthermore, the Chancellor will touch on the University’s ability to “keep pushing the leading edge of advancing this state through higher education.”  

“I think we will be able to do that, although it will be difficult, but we’ve got the students who are motivated and capable, the faculty and staff who are committed even if it means larger class sizes and those kinds of things,” Oblinger said. 

“Let’s be proud of what we’ve done, let’s realize that the times are going to be tough, but that we are going to pull together as an organization and we are going to do the right thing for North Carolina State and North Carolina citizens and embedded in all that is a high quality education for its students,” he said.

An ulterior motive for the “State of N.C. State” is the interaction it allows between Chancellor Oblinger and the student body.

“We don’t have any other venues where we reflect in front of the campus community on the achievements of the past year,” Oblinger said.

“I’m always talking to the board of trustees about what we’ve done and should be proud of, but I don’t really have someone from the general population and that’s where [this speech] grew out of.”

Nicole Wiswall, a freshman in aerospace engineering, appreciates the Chancellor’s attempts at bridging the communication gap that so often seems to exist between students and school officials.

“I think it’s worthwhile to let us know what State’s been doing, and that if nothing else it will make students aware of opportunities available to them,”Wiswall said.

“Communication is almost always a good thing.”