State, to the continuing strong support for higher education, North Carolina has always been a pioneer in providing a chance for its citizens to earn an excellent and affordable higher education—even when it was struggling and poor early in its history or during the Great Depression.
Seeding Technological Advantage
Since the Hunt Library has been conceived as the heart of Centennial Campus, the university is not building just another brick box. Instead this is an iconic, signature building that will capture the essence of NC State’s aspirations as a great force of technological strength and progress. As Chancellor James Woodward said in his welcome to the groundbreaking, “I suspect the Hunt Library will join the The bookBot will revolutionize the way visitors remain connected to the Bell Tower as one of the two Libraries’ collections. entities that say ‘NC State.’” “This is NC State in this century,” added Susan K. Nutter, vice provost and director of the NCSU Libraries. “We expect visitors from around the country, if not the globe, not only because it will be a beautiful, inspiring building, but because of what it will offer our students.”
One of the key principles library planners recognize is just how hungry today’s students are for the latest technologies. The Hunt Library will certainly continue the NCSU Libraries’ long heritage as technology incubator for learning at the university. David Hiscoe, the communications director for the Libraries, explains what this has meant for NC State students:
For over twenty years before coming to the Libraries, I hired engineers, internet experts, and communicators for an international telecommunications manufacturer. A huge percentage of them came from NC State. Why? Because I knew that when they walked in the door they would already be up to speed on the technology trends that were giving my company an edge in the market. In fact, I knew I could usually count on the new employees to teach the latest breakthroughs—whether PowerPoint fifteen years ago or online multimedia editing in recent years—to my current staff. More than a few credited the Libraries for helping to foster an expectation and a culture of tech literacy on campus. The Hunt Library will ratchet up this advantage to a new level. This requires a forward-looking and adventurous
This rendering depicts the view looking southwest from the Oval.
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