Record Attendance for an Extraordinary Event

NC State’s R. Stanhope Pullen Society held its annual induction ceremony April 15, welcoming 78 new members to its ranks. The giving society recognizes donors who have made a planned gift benefiting the Wolfpack and have provided documentation to the university.

This year’s luncheon was held in the ballroom of Talley Student Union in order to accommodate a record number of attendees. University leaders, previously inducted Pullen Society members, faculty, staff and more — 300 people in all — gathered to celebrate the new cohort and how their planned gifts will one day support NC State.

Katherine Miller, executive director of the Office of Gift Planning, kicked off the event with a warm welcome to the attendees and an introduction for Jason Miller. Miller, who is Distinguished Professor of English and an Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, served as guest speaker.

Miller shared how philanthropy has supported his research on Martin Luther King Jr., Langston Hughes, Nina Simone and others over the years. He also detailed how private support has enabled students such as Kacey Cooper ’23 to Think and Do during their time on campus.

Following lunch, Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Brian Sischo gave a brief history of the Pullen Society and explained its important place in NC State’s culture of philanthropy.

The giving society is named in memory of the Raleigh businessman who donated the original 62 acres that NC State was built upon. It celebrates the commitment shown toward the Wolfpack by donors who have made a planned gift — of any amount — through their wills, trusts, retirement accounts, donor-advised funds or other means.

More than 2,000 Pack members have included NC State in their long-term financial plans thus far, ensuring that the university will have stable funding for a wide range of programs in the coming years.

Sischo then welcomed Chancellor Randy Woodson to the stage for his final Pullen Society induction as leader of the Wolfpack. Woodson, who has served in the university’s top role for 15 years, is retiring after this semester’s graduation convocation on May 3. Chancellor-elect Kevin Howell will officially begin his work as NC State’s 15th chancellor on May 5.

“Like many of you, Kevin is an NC State alum with a lifelong connection to our campus and its community,” Woodson said. “He has made serving and supporting the Wolfpack a top priority over the years, and I am confident NC State will achieve extraordinary heights under his leadership as chancellor.”

Woodson is a Pullen Society member in his own right, having documented a planned gift to the university in 2016 with his wife, Susan. Like all previously inducted Pullen Society members, the Woodsons are encouraged to attend future induction events to help welcome new members into the giving society.

“All I ask is that you be as supportive of Kevin and his wife, Aleta, as you have been of me and Susan all these years,” Woodson said.

The chancellor followed his remarks by presenting each new inductee with a membership certificate. As the inductees made their way forward for recognition, Sonia Murphy, NC State’s new associate vice chancellor for University Development, read a short summary of their connections to the university and their respective planned gifts.

The 2025 induction also featured a special surprise for attendees: free, custom, impromptu poems written by the Poetry Fox. Chris Vitiello is a communications specialist for the NC State University Libraries who moonlights as the costumed poet, creating one-of-a-kind pieces for wedding guests, festival attendees, partygoers and more on his vintage typewriter. He repeatedly wowed Pullen guests by taking their words or short prompts and turning them into inked mementos of the day.

For more information on planned giving and how you can become a member of the Pullen Society, contact the Office of Gift Planning at 919-515-5106 or giftplanning@ncsu.edu, or visit ncsugift.org.