North Carolina State University chancellor Randy Woodson announced on Thursday that he will retire at the end of the 2024-25 academic year.
Woodson is one of the longest-serving chancellors in the UNC System, starting at N.C. State in 2010.
During his leadership, the university welcomed several of its largest incoming classes, sponsored research that’s led to nearly 200 company startups and quadrupled the endowment — toppling $2 billion in 2023.
Woodson has also had to navigate the university through challenging times, including the 2022 academic year when 14 N.C. State students died, half by suicide.
In sports, Woodson cast the decisive vote among member schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference last fall that paved the way for it to expand to 18 full members by adding Stanford, Cal and SMU. Clemson, Florida State and UNC-Chapel Hill voted against expansion.
In January, WUNC spoke with UNC System President Peter Hans about chancellor searches, including Woodson’s 14-year tenure at N.C. State. Hans said Woodson was “a phenomenal leader.”
“It will likely be a very sought-after position, because of the work that he’s done to advance N.C. State,” Hans said in January. “I wouldn’t necessarily want to follow him, any more than I’d want to follow Harold Martin as chancellor of A&T, because they’re legends. They’ve done a phenomenal job in very difficult circumstances.”
Hans named a new chancellor for North Carolina A&T last month. This year alone, he’s named four new chancellors at NC Central University, UNC Asheville and Winston-Salem State.
There’s also three other chancellor searches ongoing, at Appalachian State, Elizabeth City State and UNC-Chapel Hill.
Woodson’s last day at N.C. State will be nearly a year from now, on June 30, 2025.
