NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 26 number 1 - Fall 2005

President's Column

By Suzanne Purrington, President, Friends of the Library Board of Directors

My first year as president of the Friends of the Library Board of Directors has been exciting and rewarding. Some special highlights of the year that particularly pleased me were the events featuring such well-known writers as Tom Wolfe, Robert Dole, and Tim Tyson. The first two authors were cosponsored by the FOL and Quail Ridge Books and Music. The FOL is also partnering with Quail Ridge Books and Music on two upcoming events. Jan Karon will appear on November 14 to promote her new book Light from Heaven, and Emyl Jenkins will appear on December 8 to read from her book Stealing with Style. The Friends also hosts its annual Fall Luncheon on October 24, which features Mary Schweitzer.

 This year promises to be equally exciting. On September 23 NC State kicked off its major capital fund-raising campaign, Achieve! On September 29 the Friends celebrated the kickoff of its participation in the Achieve campaign with its own special event called the “Carousel of Knowledge.”  The event, geared toward NCSU students, faculty, and staff, was held in the Brickyard and featured free food, a working carousel, the NC State men’s and women’s basketball teams, library information booths, and prizes. All of the activity was designed to highlight the library’s fund-raising goals, centering on renovating the D. H. Hill Library and building a new library on the university’s Centennial Campus.

I would like to recognize outgoing board members Emma-Garnett Satterfield, Maryann Bitzer, John Stewart, and Brenda Wilson for graciously contributing their time, talent, and resources to the board. Their expertise will be missed. I also wish to welcome the FOL’s newest board members, Robert Bashford, Linda Murphy, Erich Bumgardner, and George Worsley. We will run brief introductions and photographs of Bashford and Bumgardner in the winter issue of the Focus.

Linda Murphy has been reappointed to the Board of Directors. Murphy is a past president of the Friends of the Library and also serves on the Board of Directors of the NCSU Wolfpack Club. She has given generously of her time and support to the Friends for many years.

Karen McCanless, a long-time Wolfpack supporter, received her M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She has been a financial planner for fourteen years and serves as a vice president with the firm of Smith-Barney in Greensboro.

George Worsley, chancellor emeritus of finance and business, retired recently after forty-one years of service to NC State. As the university’s chief financial officer, he was responsible for all business and finance functions supporting the university’s teaching, research, and extension programs. He is respected throughout the university and will be a great asset to the Friends.

I would like to extend my thanks to all FOL donors who have made the growth in collections and enhancement of services possible. The NCSU Libraries has achieved recognition as a leader among academic research libraries, particularly in the area of technology. We look forward to your continued support. If you have any suggestions about the FOL program, please call the Friends at (919) 515-2841 to share your ideas.