“Where The Strong Grow Great”: Greetings From Dean Linton
At NC State, we’re all about serving the people of North Carolina, in every corner of the state — north, south, east and west.
For this issue of CALS Magazine, we decided to turn the lens to our work in rural communities, from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Currituck Sound. In the following pages, you’ll learn how CALS academic programs, research and Extension efforts are helping shape our rural future.
We are making great progress on key challenges like expanding student access for recent high school graduates — 64 percent of student applicants from North Carolina’s 40 most economically challenged counties were accepted in 2017, the same as our acceptance rate from larger urban counties like Wake and Mecklenburg — and we recognize the tremendous opportunity to do more.
We are creating initiatives that build connections between rural and urban areas to develop the talent, opportunities and solutions needed to grow healthier communities and local economies. These initiatives include food manufacturing, plant sciences innovation, animal agriculture and leadership development.
What we Think and Do takes root across the state through our network of Extension offices and agents in all 100 counties and 18 geographically unique research stations. Our passion is for the continued growth of our wonderful state — where, as it says in the official North Carolina toast, “the weak grow strong and the strong grow great.”
And we’ll continue to reach out. Through partnerships with leaders and friends like you, we can solve the challenges facing our state, nation and world.
