Final Selection Activities: Finalist Welcome & Dinner Program
NC State Speakers
Randy Woodson
Chancellor, NC State University
Randy Woodson serves as the 14th chancellor of NC State University, North Carolina’s largest university with more than 36,000 students and an annual budget of $1.5 billion. Under his leadership, NC State has enhanced its reputation as a pre-eminent research institution. Woodson is an internationally renowned plant molecular biologist, specializing in reproductive processes in agricultural crops.
Dr. Randy Woodson became North Carolina State University’s 14th chancellor in April 2010. He announced recently that he would retire at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. Woodson leads the largest university in North Carolina, with nearly 38,000 students and a $2 billion budget. Under his leadership, the university created, implemented and completed “The Pathway to the Future,” a strategic plan that elevated NC State’s recognition among the nation’s top public research universities. In 2021, NC State created the “Wolfpack 2030: Powering the Extraordinary” strategic plan to build on this momentum and carry the university even further.
A nationally recognized scholar and academic leader, Chancellor Woodson came to NC State having most recently served as provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at Purdue University. An internationally renowned plant molecular biologist specializing in reproductive processes in agricultural crops, he earned his undergraduate degree in horticulture from the University of Arkansas and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in plant physiology from Cornell University.
Under Woodson’s leadership, NC State has become a preeminent research enterprise known for solving real-world challenges — a true Think and Do university. His strategic vision has enabled the university to advance in areas of student success, innovative research and collaborative partnerships. This has resulted in students ready to solve real-world challenges, public-private partnerships that transform ideas into solutions, and a creative, engaging center of learning and exploration for all.
Student Speakers- TBD
Alumni Speakers- TBD
Host
Eva Feucht
Director, Park Scholarships
Eva Feucht has served as the director of the Park Scholarships program at NC State since 2008. She came to NC State as a Park Scholar in the Class of 2002 and earned degrees in chemistry and science education, as well as her master’s degree in higher education administration.
Eva Feucht joined the Park Scholarships staff 20 years ago and has served as the director of the program since 2008. During her tenure as director, the Park Foundation built upon its $83 million in annual grants by beginning an endowment for Park Scholarships with a $50 million commitment in 2013 and recently finalized a partnership with the Stamps Scholars Program to match current-use and endowment income gifts.
Feucht came to NC State as a Park Scholar in the Class of 2002. She earned bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and science education and her master’s degree in higher education administration at NC State. The primary focus of her graduate study was gifted college students.
Prior to working with the Park Scholarships program, she taught high school physics and worked in the private sector as a chemist. She is past president of the Undergraduate Scholars Program Administrators Association, of which she is a founding member, and she serves on the board of the Institute for the Public Trust, a nonprofit that trains promising young leaders to run for political office. In 2020, she was honored for her leadership role on a team that carried out a successful four-year campaign to create a paid parental leave program for all UNC System employees.