Grant Funding Provides Essential Skill Development to NC State Community and Beyond
The NC State University Foundation Board has awarded 10 grants for the 2025-26 academic year
The NC State University Foundation Board has awarded 10 grants supporting new and existing projects across campus that embody NC State’s Think and Do spirit.
Each year, the board, whose purpose is to help guide private support of the university, evaluates proposals from its affiliated colleges and units, and selects proposals that emphasize collaboration and real-world impact. For the 2025-26 academic year, six colleges and units received at least one grant, totaling $443,028 over two fiscal years.
As a land-grant institution, NC State is committed to serving all North Carolinians. The awarded grants address the needs of students at NC State and consider the broader impact on North Carolina as a whole.
These projects represent the bedrock of why NC State exists, and without the support of the foundation board, may not otherwise have been funded.
“These grants often facilitate students working with communities in North Carolina or working across several disciplines. Getting real-world, practical experience that also enhances the lives of other North Carolinians is rewarding, and creates students who graduate prepared to face the challenges of our world,” said the board’s current chair, Bentina Terry ’92.
Awarded Grants
Wolfpack Pick Up – Division of Academic and Student Affairs
This project seeks to update the fleet of golf carts used to transport students across campus, ensuring greater accessibility to all members of the Wolfpack. The free program is made possible through private support and has transported over 30,000 students, staff and faculty since its inception in 2014.
NC State University Collegiate Game Jam – The NC State University Libraries
In collaboration with NC State Esports and with industry support from Epic Games, this project seeks to launch a universitywide Game Jam — an intensive, hands-on, interdisciplinary event in which students rapidly design, develop and showcase video games and associated digital art.
Data Science Training Intensive – The NC State University Libraries
This project aims to develop a training intensive for NC State graduate students, ensuring they are equipped with the essential data science skills necessary for excellence in their coursework. A College of Education graduate student will help develop the curriculum.
Interdisciplinary Leadership Lab – The Provost’s Office
This project aims to increase offerings of and access to interdisciplinary leadership development across the university and beyond.
AI In Hiring – College of Humanities and Social Sciences
This initiative seeks to train NC State students about the increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) in hiring practices, in order to improve their success in the job market.
ThinkPack: Scaling Critical Thinking – College of Humanities and Social Sciences
This project is aimed at measuring the effectiveness of the thinkARGUMENTS critical thinking course when taught to thousands of students online and asynchronously.
Global Business Case Training Program – Poole College of Management
This grant will expand the global business case training program at the Poole College of Management. The program equips students with essential case analysis and consulting skills, and it fosters visibility in the job market through high-profile performances.
Business Hire – Poole College of Management
This initiative focuses on placing business undergraduates in full-time, paid summer internships in rural North Carolina counties to both bolster career readiness skills and spur rural economic development.
Innovating Intervention: Building Teacher Skill with AI – College of Education
This project will pilot an innovative teacher preparation initiative that equips future educators to use generative AI as a literacy intervention tool for middle school students.
NC People in Public Schools – College of Education
This project aims to create a statewide communication strategy to share educational and inspirational stories from the North Carolina public school system through the lens of the Friday Institute’s educational outreach. It will highlight the positive impacts of public education and seek to influence public perception.
How Foundation Grants Work
While several larger colleges at the university have their own governing foundations and boards, the NC State University Foundation exists to support other colleges and units at the university. The annual grant program represents a key part of its work.
Each year, the foundation board invites colleges and units to submit proposals for non-recurring funds awarded for the fiscal year beginning that summer. Grant proposals can be for as much as $25,000 per year and are intended to help the college or unit implement a new program/initiative or expand an existing one. Written submissions are accompanied by short videos explaining the importance of each proposal to the enhancement of the undergraduate and graduate experiences at NC State.
“These grants help recipients go beyond budgets.”
These projects are then voted on by board members, volunteers dedicated to the philanthropic mission of the university, giving of their time and resources. In the wake of federal changes to higher education resource allocations, the board’s commitment to advancing projects that support the university’s mission is more vital than ever. The board comprises more than two dozen members, with Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Brian Sischo serving as president.
This year’s grant winners reinforce the foundation board’s dedication to carrying out NC State’s promise of access and serving the state. Terry said.
“As a land-grant university, NC State is charged with providing practical, research-based programs that will improve lives and strengthen communities,” she said. “There are so many promising initiatives that the university departments want to do that will provide a meaningful experience for students and add value to communities across NC. These grants help recipients go beyond budgets to implement this and other important work.”
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