Welcome, Chancellor Woodson

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NC State’s 14th Chancellor officially begins work today.

You can click here to view the thread from our message board from when Woodon was originally announced. More recently, this conversation discussing some of Woodson’s views received a lot of hits.

The following video was taken on Wednesday, Feb. 17, when Chancellor-elect William Randolph Woodson and his wife, Susan, were welcomed the NC State family with a pep-band-fueled, high-energy celebratory event at Reynolds Coliseum. Chancellor Woodson steps to the podium around the seven minute mark.

There’s also this entry from the main page from when Woodson’s name was announced as the likely permanent replacement for Oblinger. It has very, very interesting thoughts on the hire from a coach at Purdue who obviously knows very well Woodson’s approach to athletics. This coach also has some very interesting and unequaled perspective on NC State from personal experience in the area.

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Multimedia NC State Administration

24 Responses to Welcome, Chancellor Woodson

  1. Mr. Wuf 04/05/2010 at 8:16 AM #

    First order of business = Fire Fowler. Second order of business = celebrate.

    Read some of the article/interview with Woodson in the NC State alumni magazine that showed up last week and it sounds like he is ready to make some changes in the athletics department. Let’s hope is happen soon!

  2. old13 04/05/2010 at 8:44 AM #

    I hope and pray that he can and will break the “good-ol’-boy network” and release NCSU’s full potential in all areas, including, but not limited to athletics.

  3. StateFans 04/05/2010 at 8:48 AM #

    I was thinking/hoping the same thing.

    Then I saw Lawrence Davenport introduce the new Chancellor and it reminded me, ‘The old boy network just hired him!’

  4. old13 04/05/2010 at 9:00 AM #

    ^ That really rains on my parade! :>) Hopefully it is a sign that the scandal and changes in the BOT over the last several months have already started a movement in the right direction. If so, the next step (by Dr. Woodson) would be to dismantle the network among the faculty and staff. We’ll certainly see.

  5. Clarksa 04/05/2010 at 9:01 AM #

    Settling In: Interview from the Alumni Association
    http://www.ncsu.edu/features/2010/04/settling-in/

    NC State: You’ve talked before about the importance of athletics as an avenue through which others view the university. Tell me about that.

    Woodson: It enhances the brand when athletics perform at the highest levels. It has the potential to tarnish the brand when things go awry. And what I mean by that is not just losing, but having controversy associated with the athletics program. I’m a firm believer in the value of competitive athletics for the institution. I believe that it’s got to be done with integrity, with strong business principles so that it’s a solid resource and on solid financial ground. When it’s done well, it really adds tremendous value to the NC State brand. You can’t buy the kind of advertising that you get from a successful athletics program.

  6. choppack1 04/05/2010 at 10:21 AM #

    I’d have to ask a follow up on that “controversy” statement. It seems to me that the worst possible thing you can do is fire a successful coach who could/can be reformed..and that the benefits of a great athletic program outweigh the embarassment of a pisspoor one.

    And make no mistake about it…athletically, this school is a joke. And while it may not be that EVERY sport is awful, but the collective product that is placed on the field/court – is absolutely unacceptable.

    I’d encourage folks to look at UMd. It would have been very easy for them to get rid of Gary Williams – w/ the DUI, the pictures of him eating chicken wings, the lousy graduation rate…Would you rather have him, Bob Huggins or John Calapari leading your basketball team or would you rather have Les Robinson or Herb Sendek?

    I think it’s a bit of a strawman to say that NC State can’t be good w/out being sketchy. However, give me the choice between doing things in an ethically casual manner and being successful on the court/field OR doing things the “right way” and being last place – I’ll take the ethically casual manner. (And this shouldn’t be construed as me saying “do whatever it takes” – rather, it means, don’t over-react when problems w/ players, coaches, or programs arise if you have a successful on the court product and the program is salvageable.

  7. ncsuinpa 04/05/2010 at 11:45 AM #

    So I’m watching the video and they keep misspelling Purdue University on the Closed Caption. It’s not the Chicken university. Sheesh….

  8. Sam92 04/05/2010 at 11:55 AM #

    ok, i admit to pessimism — i hope that our new chancellor is different. for too long NCSU has accepted a culture of mediocrity; hopefully the new chancellore will promote, even require, a culture of excellence

    i do however have my doubts, since i think the problem is with the board of trustees — the BOT has been only too happy to have NCSU splash around in the shallow end of the pool for years and (1) they chose this chancellor and (2) if he does try to change things they’ll probably get rid of him

  9. old13 04/05/2010 at 12:16 PM #

    “i do however have my doubts, since i think the problem is with the board of trustees . . .”

    Then write the Chancellor and copy the BOT chairman or vice versa. I did.

  10. packfan03 04/05/2010 at 1:03 PM #

    I’ve never understood why the act of firing Lee Fowler and the “good ‘ole boy” network were mutually exclusive…How do sub-standard athletic performances, nearly across the board, benefit anyone in the “good ‘ole boy” network?

  11. packfan03 04/05/2010 at 1:09 PM #

    NC State: What do you see as some of the key differences between NC State and Purdue?

    Woodson: Let me start with similarities, because we have very, very similar missions. We’re connected to people across the state in the same way, not only through agriculture and extension but through the economic-development initiatives. [S]ome of the key differences are that there are some bright spots at NC State that are very exciting to me in areas like design. That brings such an interesting mix of students and faculty to the university that really is very different than Purdue. The humanities at NC State are young in their tenure, but very, very strong. And I think the [College of Management] has a lot of untapped potential, at least if I’m to understand where it is relative to its peers. I think one of the areas where [we’re] different from Purdue right now is [that NC State needs] to win a little more in athletics.

    Packfan03: Thank you.

  12. Sam92 04/05/2010 at 1:45 PM #

    writing the chancellor is one thing, but i wonder if it does any good.

    how is the board of trustees constituted? are they appointed? by the governor maybe?

  13. Six Pack 04/05/2010 at 2:01 PM #

    Welcome,

    Now start cleaning house!

  14. old13 04/05/2010 at 2:09 PM #

    Sam92, it is my opinion that if enough fans, and especially alumni, write letters, it would be very difficult for those people to ignore them. I believe that the BOT is appointed. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t be pressured by a significant number of active Wolfpackers. And considering Dr. Woodson’s stated views about using athletics to promote the university, especially that we need to win more, I would hope that he would follow through, especially if enough of us voice our support for those views.

  15. 66pack 04/05/2010 at 4:46 PM #

    please compare the ncsu bot with those on the unc-c bot.the difference is worth noting.

  16. 61Packer 04/05/2010 at 5:10 PM #

    The more things change at NCSU, the more they’ll remain the same. It’s April, Duke’s in the finals, UNC also played last week, and we still suck.

    But wait ’till next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  17. blpack 04/05/2010 at 5:45 PM #

    Welcome Dr Woodson! He will have his work cut out for him, but a new AD, a few old dogs ‘retire’ from the faculty, new blood in the SID office and things will start to look up. It is a new era. I hope he is up to the challenge.

  18. BJD95 04/05/2010 at 7:40 PM #

    I agree with chop. I’d rather me Tennessee than Vanderbilt. But the worst of all worlds is being ethically casual and not being worth a crap on the field/court. And frankly, all but a very small number of major D-1 programs are ethically casual (and State isn’t in that handful).

    Fowler benefits SOME in the good ole boy network – the ones that like “access” with a golfing buddy more than anything.

  19. mk4dpak 04/05/2010 at 7:43 PM #

    Let’s hope Dr. Woodson will be the man to put NC State Athletics back in the spotlight. It has been a long time, and changes are needed, ASAP. So I guess will soon see how committed he is to the Wolfpack Nation,make us proud to call you our Chancellor, Dr. Woodson.

  20. packpowerfan 04/05/2010 at 8:16 PM #

    I have a question for the 30+ crowd who has a little more personal knowledge of everything that went down with Valvano.

    Do you think that the reason NCSU continues to push this “ethical competence” over “athletic competition” edge is out of laziness, or out of extreme pride? If we were to “buy into”, so to speak, this idea that you CAN be extremely competitive while at the same time being a good model for the University, it would require SOMEONE to take blame for Valvano being run out for basically nothing?

    That is my initial thought in all of this. We become a competitive program, and it destroys that straw-man that was mentioned above. Not only would the straw-man be burned, but someone would have to vocally fess up that “Hey…we know we can win and be clean about it, and we acknowledge that we ran off the most recognizable coaching figure in our school’s history for little-to-no actual reason.”

  21. mk4dpak 04/05/2010 at 9:46 PM #

    Perhaps the demise of men’s basketball, is the curse of Jimmy V. He did deserve better. May he rest in peace.

  22. boonami 04/06/2010 at 9:42 AM #

    shame we don’t have a coaching vacancy. I hear Butler has a great coach. 🙂

  23. Gowolves 04/06/2010 at 1:07 PM #

    I can’t say for sure regarding your question, Packpowerfan. I did find out this morning a new revelation to me. A very reliable source told me this morning that Calapari’s wife had a contract on a house here. My source knows the realator and has seen the contract. I do beleive this source because he played basketball in the ACC and has many contacts still around the game. The reason NCSU continues to push ethical competence is really all about money. This same source said that Calipari was offered only 200K for the position. This I am sure doesn’t include endoresements and tv/radio. The athletic dept and BOT never had the intention to hire him. They do not want to answer to the taxpayers when they see a salary of some crazy amount. You can forget a big name coach ever coming to NCSU. This may be old news to everyone else here regarding the Calipari rumors but this was kinda shocking to me. It really cemented the idea that the athletic department will not spend its way to success unless we hire a Butler type coach and he turns the program around.

  24. gcpack 04/06/2010 at 11:56 PM #

    Packpowerfan, the only reason Valvano “went down” was because he spurned a powerful publisher in N.C. who took it out on him with his media outlet. The offense Valvano committed was too reject the publisher’s invitation to join a club. The publisher wasn’t used to someone saying “no” to him. Needless to say the lilly livered publisher managed to fabricate falsehoods and exaggerate minor faults in the basketball program through subordinates and associates. Then he published them as the top story for weeks and weeks.

    Unfortunately the University went overboard to prove that it was not a renegade school and that it had quality ethics . It fired Valvano and became the first poster child for implementing more stringent academic guidelines in the NCAA. Of course most of the other schools took their sweet time in becoming compliant. In hindsight the school should have fought that publisher longer.

    In other words it was the ego of a pathetic, intellectually weak yet power hungry mogul which got stepped on oh so slightly that started the whole thing.

    Nothing more, nothing less.

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