On the Season 3 finale of the NC State Philanthropy Podcast, we’re joined by Krista Ringler, NC State’s associate vice provost and director of Scholarships and Financial Aid, to discuss her office’s work and its importance.

Transcript available here.

On this episode of the NC State Philanthropy Podcast, we’re joined by NC State alumna and supporter Gayle Lanier to discuss why giving back to the university is so important to her. Lanier received a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering from NC State in 1982 and went on to hold key leadership roles in several Fortune 500 companies across multiple industries. She retired in 2018 as senior vice president of Duke Energy.

Throughout her career and now in retirement, Lanier has made giving back to her alma mater, through her time and talent as well as through her finances, a top priority. She and her husband have helped fund scholarships, promote Wolfpack Athletics — the women’s basketball team is particularly near and dear to their hearts — and support various programs and initiatives across the university.

Lanier has also served on a long list of NC State boards and committees, including the Board of Trustees. Recognized as Distinguished Engineering Alumnus of the Year in 2008, Lanier then received the Watauga Medal in 2017. She is currently the chair of the Shelton Leadership Center and of Wolfpack Women in Philanthropy, which work to promote values-based leadership development and to connect women in the NC State community to one another and to opportunities to support the university, respectively.

To learn more about Wolfpack Women in Philanthropy, please visit go.ncsu.edu/wwip. If you’d like to hear even more stories of Wolfpack success, please subscribe to the NC State Philanthropy Podcast today in the Apple or Google podcast stores, on Spotify or through Stitcher. Be sure to leave a comment and rating as well to let us know how we’re doing.

Thanks for listening, and as always, go Pack!

Transcript available here.

On this episode of the NC State Philanthropy Podcast, we’re joined by James B. Robertson, a Goodnight Scholar alumnus and current Goodnight Doctoral Fellow, to discuss how private support has enabled him to earn multiple degrees from the College of Sciences.

Robertson has majored in statistics for many years at NC State, first as an undergraduate thanks to the financial assistance provided to him by the Goodnight Scholarships program. Because of this full-ride scholarship opportunity, Robertson was then able to stay on campus and pursue a master’s degree in statistics instead of having to immediately get a job to begin repaying his student debt.

Today, Robertson is back on campus working toward a doctorate in statistics and once again taking part in a program made possible by Dr. Jim and Mrs. Ann Goodnight. The Goodnight Doctoral Fellowship program is an extension of the Goodnight Scholarships program that provides critical funding for NC State’s Ph.D. candidates — an important group of Wolfpack members with unique funding challenges. Thanks to the Goodnights’ ongoing generosity to NC State, the university is closing that financial gap and enabling more and more doctoral students to learn, grow and succeed.

To learn more about how Dr. Jim and Mrs. Ann Goodnight are supporting the Wolfpack, please visit goodnight.ncsu.edu and go.ncsu.edu/goodnightgrad. If you’d like to hear even more stories of Wolfpack success, please subscribe to the NC State Philanthropy Podcast today in the Apple or Google Podcast stores, on Spotify or through Stitcher. Be sure to leave a comment and rating as well to let us know how we’re doing.

Thanks for listening, and as always, go Pack.

Transcript available here.

On this episode of the NC State Philanthropy Podcast, we’re joined by Katherine Miller, the executive director of NC State’s Office of Gift Planning, to discuss planned giving and its importance to the university’s ongoing success.

A bequest is a gift made through your will or trust, but it is much more than simply leaving money to NC State in your long-term financial plans. It is one of the most popular and flexible ways that you can support the university, and it even comes with benefits that you can enjoy in the present. Miller discusses all of this in our interview, along with how she came to be part of the Wolfpack following time spent in the private sector as a CPA.

For more information on how you can benefit NC State through planned giving, please visit ncsugift.org. If you’d like to hear even more stories of Wolfpack success, please subscribe to the NC State Philanthropy Podcast today in the Apple or Google Podcast stores, on Spotify or through Stitcher. Be sure to leave a comment and rating to let us know how we’re doing.

Thanks for listening, and as always, go Pack!

Transcript available here.

On this episode of the NC State Philanthropy Podcast, we’re joined by Andy Albright, an NC State alumnus, donor and board member, to discuss why he supports his alma mater and what kind of difference he’s making. Albright graduated from the Wilson College of Textiles in 1986 and has gone on to become a successful entrepreneur, businessman, motivational speaker and author. He has also generously given back to the university via his work on various NC State committees including the Alumni Entrepreneurs Network, the Campaign Cabinet for the university’s recent Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign and, currently, the Entrepreneurship Initiative Advisory Board.

Alongside his wife, Jane, Albright has made financial contributions to help advance efforts across campus, especially through gifts to Wolfpack Athletics and the Shelton Leadership Center, with NC State Innovation and Entrepreneurship remaining a particularly passionate focus. The Albrights’ giving supports the Albright Entrepreneurs Village, which is NC State’s living and learning community for student entrepreneurs, and the Albright Entrepreneurship Garage, which serves as a hub for students across campus to come together and explore their entrepreneurial ideas and interests. These Centennial Campus sites are extraordinary representations of the emphasis Andy Albright places on helping other Wolfpack entrepreneurs Think and Do.

To learn more about how Albrights’ generosity has furthered the efforts of NC State Innovation and Entrepreneurship, visit go.ncsu.edu/albright. If you’d like to hear even more stories of Wolfpack success, subscribe to the NC State Philanthropy Podcast today in the Apple or Google Podcast stores, on Spotify or through Stitcher. Be sure to leave a comment and rating to let us know how we’re doing.

Transcript available here.

On this episode, we’re joined by Nick Drake, director of NC State’s Jeffrey Wright Military and Veteran Services, to discuss how private support enables our military-affiliated students to Think and Do. Drake has been the director for seven years this November and has seen a tremendous improvement in the already extraordinary program over that time — much of it thanks to the private support of military-affiliated alumni such as Jeff Wright ’91 and his wife, Kelly Breslin Wright, and Jerry Collier ’67 and his wife, Pat Collier.

NC State loves the diversity that military-affiliated students bring to campus. The university proudly welcomes our nation’s veterans and military families, and is a “Best for Vets,” “Top Military-Friendly” and “Military Spouse-Friendly” school. Philanthropy, including transformational gifts by the Wrights and the Colliers and special grant funding from the NC State University Foundation, makes it all possible by enabling the Pack to support these students as they transition from military life to college life and then into their chosen career field after graduation.

To learn more about the Jeffrey Wright Military and Veteran Services and how you can help further its invaluable mission, please visit veterans.ncsu.edu. If you’d like to hear even more stories of Wolfpack success, please subscribe to the NC State Philanthropy Podcast today in the Apple or Google Podcast stores, on Spotify or through Stitcher. Be sure to leave a comment and rating as well to let us know how we’re doing!

Transcript available here.

On this episode of the NC State Philanthropy Podcast, we’re joined by Joshua Pierce, the executive director of NC State’s new Integrative Sciences Initiative (ISI). ISI is transforming teaching, research and discovery in chemistry and other STEM fields at NC State by employing the latest technology, solving major societal challenges and training a new generation of interdisciplinary scientists ready for every future opportunity.

At its heart is the Integrative Sciences Building (ISB), a new $180 million facility currently being built on the Brickyard where Harrelson Hall once stood. ISB is being made possible by public funding from the state of North Carolina as well as the private support of NC State donors. The cutting-edge building will provide vital space for STEM teaching and research space at NC State and serve as a catalyst for transforming the sciences.

Pierce is also the Howard J. Schaeffer Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, having been awarded the honor earlier this year. The professorship was made possible thanks to a gift from Burroughs Wellcome Company and is enabling Pierce to pursue his personal research in addition to his duties as executive director of ISI.

To learn more about the Integrative Sciences Initiative, please visit go.ncsu.edu/isi. If you’d like to hear even more stories of Wolfpack success, please subscribe to the NC State Philanthropy Podcast today in the Apple or Google Podcast stores, on Spotify or through Stitcher. Be sure to leave a comment and rating as well to let us know how we’re doing!

Transcript available here.

On the Season 3 premiere of the NC State Philanthropy Podcast, we’re joined by Niki Theobald, director of development for the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Foundation, to discuss crowdfunding and its impact on the College of Veterinary Medicine — specifically, its Turtle Rescue Team.

The Turtle Rescue Team is a student-run organization that helps treat wild turtles, as well as other reptiles and amphibians. Due to a population and construction boom in the Raleigh-Durham area, the Turtle Rescue Team saw a dramatic increase in patient numbers in 2021, leading the team to use medical supplies and equipment at an alarming rate. With more patients also came the need to store more food for them, which caused a desperate need for an extra refrigerator.

That led the Turtle Rescue Team to create an NC State crowdfunding project to raise the necessary funding. Part of the university’s annual giving efforts, crowdfunding is a relatively new way for donors to make a major impact on various departments, units and projects via smaller gifts. The Turtle Rescue Team saw an extraordinary 310% in its funding goal thanks to the generosity of 211 donors, making it NC State’s most successful crowdfunding projects to date.

Transcript available here.