North Carolina State long-time chancellor Randy Woodson announced Thursday that he would retire at the end of the academic year.
"This has been the professional honor of my life," said Woodson, who has been the Raleigh university's top leader since 2010.
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Woodson's contract expires on June 30, 2025, He received a two-year extension in 2021.
"I'm still here," Woodson said. "I've got a year of very solid work. We've got — and I told the board — in two or three weeks, we'll have 39,000 students show up on our campus."
Woodson, 67, said he and his wife will remain in Raleigh after his retirement.
N.C. State has the largest enrollment in the UNC System.
“Under Chancellor Woodson’s visionary leadership, North Carolina State University has transformed into one of our nation’s preeminent public research universities," U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis said in a statement Thursday afternoon, ahead of the official announcement.
"Chancellor Woodson will leave a lasting legacy of innovation and success, and I want to thank him for his steadfast dedication to advancing knowledge and enriching the lives of countless individuals in North Carolina and beyond through his service to the N.C. State community.”
During his tenure, he presided over a growing student body and navigated education during the Covid-19 pandemic. He also has sought to improve mental health services for students amid an increase in student suicides.
"We were fortunate two years ago to be able to talk Chancellor Woodson into serving up the remainder of his term," UNC System President Peter Hans said. "And I'm grateful to him for continuing to serve."
Woodson said he has been considering the right time to step away for a while, since before the university came under scrutiny for its handling of complaints about air quality at an academic building. More than 200 people who worked in Poe Hall have reported a diagnosis of cancer to 5 On Your Side.
As a result of the university’s handling of the Poe Hall situation, the faculty of the university’s College of Education voted in February that they didn’t have confidence in Woodson.
The university is currently working on plans to remediate toxic chemicals found in the building’s air handler after conducting two rounds of testing.
Woodson's long tenure and success at N.C. State has earned him headlines nationally. The Chronicle of Higher Education recently profiled him in a story titled "The Politically Invincible Chancellor." It asked: "What's his secret?"
Freshman enrollment at the university is up more than 65% since the start of his tenure with increases in first-year retention and five-year graduation rates, reaching 87%. During his tenure, N.C. State has seen a large increase in federal research grants.
"I feel like we have accomplished a lot at N.C. State," Woodson said. "One of the things I'm most proud of is our graduation rate has gone from the low 70 percentile to 87%."
Woodson taught at Louisiana State University before joining the faculty at Purdue University in Indiana, where he held a number of posts including dean of the agriculture school and, eventually, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. He replaced interim chancellor James Woodward at N.C. State.
"When I think about where N.C. State was 15 years ago and where N.C. State is now, it is an extraordinary testament to this man's leadership and the team that he has built around him and the support he's had from the trustees, from my board and so many alumni," Hans said. "I think he has made a search for a worthy successor so much more possible."
The UNC System has three chancellor vacancies, including an ongoing search at UNC-Chapel Hill. Four other chancellors started in 2024.
"Tenures are getting shorter, certainly nationally," Hans said Wednesday when asked about the turnover among higher education leaders. "I think the range is five to seven years. ... Much of this was a delayed cycle from COVID that leaders wanted to make sure they saw us through that period of time. So the fact that these came together is, I think, a delayed reaction in part."