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Randy Woodson is an educator and a facilitator of public private partnerships. The internationally renowned plant scientist is also the 14th chancellor of North Carolina State University.

Since he arrived at NC State in 2010, the university has experienced many transformative changes — the opening of the James B. Hunt Jr. Library on Centennial Campus, the launch of the College of Sciences and the completion of the Lonnie Poole Golf Course, to name just a few.

Randy also guided the university in securing leadership roles in groundbreaking national research projects, such as the Next Generation Power Electronics National Manufacturing Innovation Institute, the Consortium for Nonproliferation Enabling Capabilities and the Laboratory for Analytic Sciences. These federally funded projects partner government and industry with top faculty and students to create solutions to some of society’s biggest challenges.

NC State is a research powerhouse. It’s the only university in the nation with two prestigious National Science Foundation Engineering Research Centers — the Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management Systems Center known as FEEDM, and the Center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies known as ASSIST.

He came from Purdue University, where he served as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. Randy grew up in Fordyce, Ark., and attended the University of Arkansas, receiving a B.S. in horticulture. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in plant physiology from Cornell University. He joined the Louisiana State University faculty in 1983, moving to Purdue University as an assistant professor of horticulture in 1985.

Long before Randy arrived at NC State, he was familiar with the Research Triangle Park. As a plant scientist, he had consulted with companies such as Ciba-Geigy and Syngenta. He has contributed a body of knowledge to the field of plant science. His research has covered plant genetics, molecular biology, biotechnology and sustainable bioproducts development. His work has been featured in BusinessWeek, The Futurist and Discover.