Sharing the Vision

Dear Friends,

About 115 years ago, a North Carolina farmer hooked his plow to a mule and began tilling the hard, clay soil. He worked for untold hours - but not on garden rows. Instead, he plowed one long, single furrow around a 62-acre parcel of land.

When he was finished, R. Stanhope Pullen had outlined on his property a vision - one shared by prominent community and business leaders of his day - a vision they believed would positively change the course of the state and the lives of all its citizens, forever.

Visionaries are like that. They make investments of time, energy and resources in efforts many would think impractical, premature, too challenging or just plain crazy - because they see possibilities most people don't.

The vision shared by Pullen and his colleagues was that an investment in the power of education would bolster the state's agricultural strength, and awaken its industrial and manufacturing potential. They believed this investment would result in affordable higher education, jobs, a stronger economy and a bright, progressive future.

That vision was NC State. Now one of the nation's top public universities for science and technology, NC State has evolved into a comprehensive university with outstanding degree programs ranging from the sciences, agriculture and engineering to veterinary medicine, humanities and social sciences. NC State's heritage as a university tied closely to the community has driven it to achievements beyond the founder's wildest imaginations.

While he urged his mule along that day so long ago, Pullen didn't foresee nanotechnology, bioinformatics or severe storm modeling. Likewise, we can't foresee what discoveries may emerge from today's exciting merging of the mathematical, physical and biological sciences. And just as Pullen outlined his vision with a plow and mule, we are outlining our vision with Achieve! The Campaign for NC State.

Today, we are witnessing the dawn of important, new disciplines. We are developing new programs to provide society with a diverse workforce of specialists needed for these new areas, ensuring NC State's continuing place as a leader in science and technology. And we are constantly introducing educational innovations and new opportunities to provide our students with the best educational preparation for work, for citizenship and for life.

To do this, we need your help. And we invite you to join us as we venture into these exciting, new areas of scientific discovery and achievement.

Daniel L. Solomon, Dean
College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences