Kevin Howell ’88 has been named interim associate vice chancellor for alumni relations and executive director of the NC State University Alumni Association.
In addition to maintaining current alumni outreach and service initiatives and objectives, Howell will work with the Alumni Association Board of Directors and leadership of the university to consider long-term strategies, including the fiscal planning needed to support the growth of the association.
Howell currently serves as assistant to the chancellor for external affairs. He is a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors and the North Carolina State Board of Education.
A former student body president — and member of the Board of Trustees — Howell earned his B.A. in political science from NC State and his law degree from UNC-Chapel Hill. He and his wife Aleta Howell ’89 live in Raleigh with their two daughters.
Below is the roundtable discussion and Q&A with Chancellor Jim Woodward from the Autumn 2009 issue of NC State magazine. A pdf version is also available.
Taking a Hard Look A conversation about NC State’s culture
Three top university officials step down in May and June, after an investigation of a former governor raises questions about a job created for his wife. The chancellor in the interim pledges to create a culture of openness and transparency. The chair of the Board of Trustees appoints a committee to review what happened. Alumni send in letters from all over the world, expressing disappointment and support and asking questions.
Time for some soul-searching.
We asked Chancellor Jim Woodward about his perceptions of the university and plans for moving forward. (See end.) We also asked a group of six people—each with a unique perspective on the events of this summer—to come together in the Park Alumni Center for a freewheeling discussion about the university’s culture, media relations, governance and more.
The participants were: William C. Friday ’41, president emeritus of the UNC System; Suzanne Gordon ’75, chief information officer of SAS and former second vice chair of the NC State Board of Trustees; Dwuan June ’90, assistant news editor at The Washington Post and former editor of Technician; Billy Maddalon ’90, co-owner of Unique Southern Properties and former chair of the Alumni Association Board of Directors; Jim Martin, a chemistry professor and former chair of the NC State Faculty Senate;and Art Padilla ’69, ’71 MS, an expert on leadership in higher education and head of NC State’s Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. An edited transcript of their Aug. 4 conversation follows.
—Rebecca Morphis
NC State: Does what happened here recently indicate something about our culture at NC State?
Friday: [I] think what we’ve been going through is a phenomenon that has happened across the country. I mean by that, the intrusion of politics into the life of an academic enterprise. For example, in the state of Illinois this very week, the Board of Trustees there is being asked to resign. Some of them [were appointed] by a previous governor who is now in prison, and [his successor], who is going to go to prison, apparently. The whole thing shows you what politics can do when you get to tampering with the administrative structure of an institution.
I’m not alleging anything here in North Carolina. I don’t know what the true facts will turn out to be. But we do know that rigidity on this point is very critical to the life of a university. A public institution is of the public process, to be sure. We are a creature of the state. We are financed by the state. We serve the state. But that is far and away a role quite different from being in the political life of the state. [Y]ou step across the line once in any substantive way and you’re in trouble, because there’s always the second time, and a third time, and a fourth time, as Illinois is showing you right now. [There are all kinds of questions that remain to be resolved.] So that’s the role of the trustees. Their job is to maintain that posture of open, free inquiry and involvement. (more…)
Students who have never flown on an airliner find themselves in places such as post-Katrina New Orleans, Ecuador, Ghana, Nicaragua and Sri Lanka, building houses, improving water systems or working in a free clinic, while navigating a new culture.
Whatever help the students lend to their host country isn’t the main point. It’s to engage their minds and hearts with the broader world, says Giancola, 37.
“I tell students my job is to infect them and make them sick,” he says. “They say ‘What does that mean?’ and I reply ‘I’m going to make you sick with some realities of the world. It’s not for me to tell you what to do about them, but you’ll be called based on whatever force that drives you to do something about it.’”
Roger Winstead ’87, who’s a regular contributor to NC State magazine and is NC State Creative Services’ director of photography, has started a photo blog, PackPix. He captured the above image of the Bell Tower (actually six photos “stitched together”) in May, after it was struck by lightning. He explains:
A bolt tagged the top of the tower, sending a huge chuck of granite earthward and facilities had to fix it asap. With the use of two huge cranes, workers repaired the damage and even had a little time to give me a ride to the top (with a little coaxing from Charlie [Leffler]). I rode up with them the day after the storm to shoot the damage and the work being done. That was a seriously windy day that had the bucket swinging big-time. Not a place to be for the timid, fear-of-heights kind of person.
Shack-a-thon kicked off on the Brickyard yesterday. Technician has the story, and News 14 has a short video about the fundraiser, which benefits Habitat for Humanity. The Caldwell Fellows Programs, a scholarship and leadership initiative the Alumni Association sponsors, has a shack there, and Caldwell Fellow Jeffrey Huber, a junior majoring in industrial engineering and economics, checked in after the first night:
The Brickyard. This vast expanse normally reserved for passing library patrons cramming for tomorrow’s test is a veritable village. Those of us not pre-occupied with people-watching try to squeeze in some homework. Laptop screens light the faces of most thanks to wireless, but a few just shoot the breeze. I put on some good music, lean back in a white plastic chair and try to do a little of everything while enjoying the cool night air.
Shack-a-thon is always a fun part of the year. It is one of the foremost traditions of NC State. To me it is more than anything else, a time of community, seeing old friends and making new ones. Last year a very competitive game of four-square popped up. Not-so-competitive corn-hole seems like the favorite this year. (more…)
Communication professor Ed Funkhouser sent us these photos from Hillsborough Street. They’re from August, but they’ll give you a good idea of the major renovations happening on Hillsborough Street. You can follow the construction (and get a heads up on closings) on the project’s official Twitter feed.
State Auditor Beth Wood released today an interim report — a follow-up to a January audit — about her office’s investigation into the salary and raise of Mary Easley, wife of former N.C. Gov. Mike Easley. From the report:
“The preliminary finding expresses the conclusion that Ms. Easley’s salary [$170,000] was excessive. However, the University’s response and further consideration have raised valid concerns about the conclusion, at least to the amount considered excessive.”
Here’s some behind-the-scenes footage from the new NC State commercial that was filmed yesterday on Centennial Campus and will debut on ESPN during the Sept. 3 game against South Carolina. If you saw any of the spots from last year, you’ll see a familiar face.
What qualifications and characteristics do you want to see in the next chancellor of NC State? Tell us! You can leave feedback in the comments section of this post or on our Facebook page. You can also e-mail us at alumniblog@gw.ncsu.edu or fill out the university’s feedback form on the Chancellor Search page. We’ll deliver everything we receive to the search committee. One member of that committee is Lynn Daniel ’74, president of the NC State Alumni Association Board of Directors; feel free to e-mail him, too, at lynndaniel@thedanielgroup.com.
The committee is also holding public forums throughout the afternoon of Wednesday, August 26, at Talley Student Center. An evening session will be at the McKimmon Center.
Editor’s note: Because of a coding problem, we moved the WRAL interviews off the front page. You can find them after the jump.
Last weekend’s Jimmy V Classic raised about $500,000 for cancer research and attracted more than 11,000 people to the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on Centennial Campus. The N&O has a small gallery of photos, and WRAL, which produced the Sidney Lowe ’83 and Terry Gannon ’85 videos after the jump, has a story and interviewed many of the participants, including Arnold Palmer, Rod Brind’Amour, Bucky Waters ’58, Erik Cole and Bob Valvano. An interview with is after the jump. You can read about the Jimmy V-NC State Cancer Therapeutics Training Program here. (more…)
Kevin Howell ’88 has been named interim associate vice chancellor for alumni relations and executive director of the NC State University Alumni Association.
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