The PACK Reaches Out
Post by Taylor Springs
An exterior of The James B. Hunt Library. Photo by Marc Hall
NC State’s colleges and departments intermingle course requirements and community involvement by encouraging community service. According to Tracey Peake of NC State’s news, North Carolina State University has received the highest federal recognition for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement – a Presidential Award – as part of the 2012 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. NC State is one of only five Presidential Awardees nationwide, and one of two in the “general community service” category. NC State estimates that more than 21,000 of its 34,000 students take part in either community-service, alternative service breaks, or service-learning projects. The university estimates that the NC State community has completed 330,000 hours of community service in the 2010-11 academic year.
Photo By ASB
This program focuses on students having unique service-learning experiences where they can dive head first into a community, aid them on a certain social issue, and become knowledgeable of the community’s culture and customs. According to CSLEPS, “teams are led by student team leaders and accompanied by faculty
advisors. Throughout the trip, team members participate in a variety of cultural, educational, recreational and reflective activities to enhance their service experience”. Students can attend a program event across the nation or even in another country!
NC State offers two programs North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service & Industrial Extension Service that develop solutions for real-world problems in the 100 counties and Cherokee Reservation of North Carolina.
The Cooperative service ( in conjunction with NC A&T State University)program focuses on four main areas: enhancing agricultural, forest and food systems, developing responsible youth, strengthening and sustaining families, conserving and improving the environment and natural resources. It aids the counties through ” educational programs, publications and events, cooperative extension agents deliver research-based information to North Carolina citizens”.
The Industrial Service helps all types of businesses by improving the quality, increasing productivity, improving efficiency, and, as a result, gaining more profits through business and technological education.
Research Photo By Marc Hall
Engagement
The engagement initiatives allow faculty and students to connect with communities, businesses and non-profit organizations. These programs link students to research and broaden students’ education experiences, while learning about social issues presiding in North Carolina and making a direct impact within those communities.
The College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences created the Science House, an outreach program. The college partners with K-12 teachers to increase the use of hands-on learning activities in math and science. The Science House “reaches more than 28,000 students and 3,500 teachers across North Carolina annually”.
Centennial Campus is a prime example of how the University, its students, and its faculty engages with community and creates partnerships. There are more than 1,600 corporate and government employees work alongside approximately a thousand faculty, staff, post-docs, and students.
- Major partners include Red Hat, the Iams Company, Ericsson IPI, the U.S. Department of Agriculture,GlaxoSmithKline, MeadWestVaco, and Plexus Technology Group.
Bringing Research and Business together Photo By Marc Hall
Economic Development
NC State has a sense of entrepreneurship running through its academic core. NC State provides opportunities for students and faculty to work along side corporations to solve problems—through internships, co-op programs, and applied degree programs. According to NC State, ” students, faculty, and staff are able to “set new standards for job creation and cooperation between the public, private sectors and government”.
According to North Carolina State University, the University has developed an Economic Development Partnership that will ”help match the university’s proven research abilities with known local and regional resources to attract businesses with enormous potential to North Carolina”.
North Carolina State University is more than an academic haven. It is the combination of extension, engagement, and economic development that is needed by the state of North Carolina. So prospective students, come be a part of bettering the lives of people, the communities, the state, the nation, and the WORLD!
