North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University is an institution of higher learning located in Raleigh, North Carolina. North Carolina State University was founded and designated as the state's first land-grant institution by the General Assembly in 1887 as the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.

NCSU is currently lead by interim chancellor Bob Barnhardt; its provost is James Oblinger. The previous previous chancellor, Marye Anne Fox departed in July 2004 to take the job of chancellor at the University of California, San Diego.

Table of contents

1 Academics
2 Athletics
3 Campus
4 Alumni
5 Chief Executives
6 External links

Academics

With historical strengths in agriculture, engineering, and textiles, it is perhaps most widely recognized as one of the three anchors of North Carolina's Research Triangle, together with Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With more than 29,000 students, it is also the largest university in the University of North Carolina System and in the state of North Carolina.

Notable current faculty include aquatic botanist JoAnn Burkholder, chemist Mike Whangbo, linguist Walt Wolfram, computer engineer Donald Bitzer, entomologist George Kennedy, and science-fiction author John Kessel.

Athletics

Athletic teams are called the Wolfpack. North Carolina State participates in the NCAA's Division I-A in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Each of the past four years, NC State’s charismatic football coach, Chuck Amato, has lead the Pack to bowl games while the men’s basketball team, coached by Herb Sendek, advanced to the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Women’s basketball coach Kay Yow, a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, has more than 600 wins to her credit. A stunning new sports arena, the RBC Center, beckons students, alumni, and area residents to come and root for the Wolfpack.

Campus

Architecturally, NCSU is known for its distinctive red brick buildings and the "belltower." Due to oversupply, odd brick statues dot the landscape, a large section of campus is paved over with brick (University Plaza, a.k.a. "the brickyard"), and most sidewalks are also made with brick. These sidewalks are also dotted with white brick mosaics.

Other hotspots on campus include the Free Expression Tunnel, one of three pedestrian tunnels underneath the railroad tracks bisecting the main campus. This particular tunnel is the site of sanctioned graffiti; anyone may tag here, and it is often the place for announcements, birthday messages, and generally nifty art.

The Court of North Carolina, on the northeast side of campus, is surrounded by the 1911 Building; the College of Humanities and Social Sciences in Tompkins, Caldwell, Winston Halls and Poe Hall; Page Hall, home to College of Engineering offices; and Leazar Hall, location of the Computer Science Teaching Labs.

NC State's main campus is augmented by the modern 1,334 acre mixed-use Centennial Campus. This campus is home to university, corporate, and government research, in addition to classrooms and non-student residences. The College of Textiles is based on this campus, and the College of Engineering has several existing and planned facilities. The offices of Red Hat and the Raleigh branch of the National Weather Service are also on the campus.