Randy Woodson grew up in rural Arkansas to parents who were both teachers. By his own words, professional prospects were limited in the piney woods of the so-called “Land of Opportunity,” and his parents insisted that education was his chance to change the world.

“My parents … were focused on us seeking a professional career [where you] used your brain a little more than your back,” Woodson said just after he was hired as NC State’s 14th executive officer in 2010.

Now, however, as NC State begins the difficult job of saying goodbye to its third-longest-serving leader, the Wolfpack community will spend time over the next year remembering how Woodson’s hardworking spirit to implement a robust academic vision has had a tremendous impact on the largest institution in the University of North Carolina System.

On Thursday, at the July meeting of NC State’s Board of Trustees, Woodson announced he will retire on June 30, 2025. The UNC System will launch a national search for his successor.

Woodson began his travels in academia thanks to a part-time job at a plant nursery in his hometown of Fordyce, Arkansas, where he learned the value of hands-on work and the importance of curiosity in the scientific process. He earned dual bachelor of science degrees in chemistry and horticulture from the University of Arkansas (1979) and his M.S. (’81) and Ph.D. (’83) in plant physiology from Cornell.

Woodson spent 25 years as a professor and administrator at Purdue University, a peer land-grant university in West Lafayette, Indiana, enabling him to step seamlessly into the top leadership role at NC State.

Appointed by the Board of Trustees on Jan. 8, 2010, Woodson took office at NC State in April and was officially installed on Oct. 10 of the same year, becoming NC State’s 14th chief executive officer. The only two who have served longer are Col. John W. Harrelson (1934-53) and John T. Caldwell (1959-75).

Over the next year, Woodson will be celebrated for the changes he has made to North Carolina’s primary land-grant institution, a transformation that has enhanced the university’s standing among its peer institutions, expanded its research and public-private partnerships, increased its endowment, and beautified the historically utilitarian campus. 

Woodson has committed to student success by bringing in highly qualified new students through early and traditional admissions and qualified transfers, especially in partnership with North Carolina’s community colleges. Once here, those students have performed well, have found professions after graduation and are targets for companies seeking job-ready employees. The university’s return-on-investment feedback from students, parents and industry partners has improved steadily during his tenure.

Known for his easygoing personality, his love of bluegrass and mountain music and his skills in developing relationships, Woodson will be hard to replace because of his glove-tight fit for the many different constituencies he’s served in Raleigh, across North Carolina, throughout the nation and around the world.

The greatest legacy he and his wife of 41 years, Susan Wynne Woodson, are leaving to the university is an anchored foundation built on philanthropy and devotion to place and people.

And NC State will be better positioned during the coming transition than ever before, thanks to the hard work Woodson did throughout his career — with both his back and his brain.

University Leadership

Presidents

• Alexander Q. Holladay, 1889-99
• George T. Winston, 1899-1908
• Daniel H. Hill Jr., 1908-16
• Wallace Carl Riddick, 1916-23
• Eugene C. Brooks, 1923-34

Dean of Administration/Chancellor

• John W. Harrelson, 1934-45/1945-53

Chancellors

• Cary Hoyt Bostian, 1953-59
• John T. Caldwell, 1959-75
• Joab Thomas, 1975-81
• Bruce Poulton, 1982-89
• Larry Monteith, 1989-98
•  Marye Anne Fox, 1998-2004
• James L. Oblinger, 2005-09
• William Randolph Woodson, 2010-present

Interims

• Jackson A. Rigney, 1975
• Nash Winstead, 1981-82
• Robert A. Barnhardt, 2004
• James H. Woodward, 2009-10

This post was originally published in NC State News.