Meet Our New People

Many NC State employees experienced the excitement of coming to campus for the first time or starting a new position in 2022. We spoke to some of our new college deans and academic administrators and found out what makes them proud to be a part of the Wolfpack family.

Rob Dunn, Senior Vice Provost for University Interdisciplinary Programs

What do you like the most about your job?
Well, there is a lot. I like finding ways to celebrate the interdisciplinary work being done by faculty, students and staff. We have some really extraordinary interdisciplinarity on campus and some of it is quite hidden. I really enjoy trying to build more long-term thinking into the interdisciplinary landscape at NC State. What are the possible scenarios for North Carolina and the world in 2050 and 2100, for example, and how do we keep those scenarios in mind while making decisions? 

I also really enjoy trying to find opportunities to create programs that build on our existing excellence to bring interdisciplinarity across all of the colleges of the university. This includes some of the programs we have recently launched, such as the Global One Health Academy, but also the programs that are just bubbling possibilities at the moment, ideas emerging from conversations with faculty and campus leaders. 

What is something you do in your position that more people should know about?
A big part of the job is the relatively hidden work of finding ways for the programs that report to my office, extraordinary programs including the Shelton Leadership Center and NC State Innovation and Entrepreneurship, along with the academies and other units, to work together as a team. These programs are led by really amazing folks, nearly all of whom have moved into their roles in the last couple of years. 

Another part of the job that is not unknown so much as it is simply new is that we are beginning a series of working groups in which we bring scholars from NC State and around the world together in a kind of think tank to generate new ideas and synthesis around a particular topic. The first working group we are launching focuses on biomimicry. The second focuses on how we might better bring the benefits of nature and biodiversity to our students, faculty and staff in the context of mental health and well-being.

What are you looking forward to in your position in the coming year?
I’m looking forward to working with my amazing team to develop five-, 10- and 20-year plans for interdisciplinarity at NC State and doing so in light of even longer-term local and global trends. How do we engender interdisciplinarity that rises to the challenges and opportunities of the next century? 

What is something you do outside of your job that helps you maintain a work-life balance?
Right now, I spend a lot of time listening to music, especially bluegrass music. 

What is a hobby you really enjoy or secret talent you have?
I enjoy playing racquetball, visiting archaeological sites, working with chefs and artists, and writing.

Heidi Hobbs, Interim Vice Provost for Global Engagement

What do you like the most about your job?
Working with the amazing staff that support the Office of Global Engagement across the university and around the world. 

What is something you do in your position that more people should know about?
I connect with people daily from other countries. I want our Global Learning for All initiative to help everyone across campus — students, faculty and staff make these connections.  

What are you looking forward to in your position in the coming year?
We are completing our two-year focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We will have several events related to this initiative, including an SDG Expo on March 21, 2023.  I look forward to taking stock of what we have done and how we can build on our activities in sustainability.  

What is something you do outside of your job that helps you maintain a work-life balance?
I enjoy walking for exercise and being outdoors.  

What is a hobby you really enjoy or secret talent you have?
My family loves to travel and I have become an expert at managing our frequent flyer accounts for the greatest benefit!  

Donna Petherbridge, Vice Provost, DELTA

What do you like the most about your job?
The best part about my job is absolutely working with my DELTA colleagues to think about, create and support extraordinary learning opportunities. The DELTA team is simply an amazing, creative, innovative, fun and caring group of individuals and being around them makes you think that you can achieve anything. Every year the team creates something exciting, whether that is an innovative new tool or digital media design that supports teaching and learning, a process improvement that saves time, or research that moves digital learning forward. I am so lucky to have been with DELTA since we were formed in 2000. I love DELTA and would not want to be anywhere else!

What is something you do in your position that more people should know about?
I don’t think it would be any surprise to anyone that I’m in a lot of meetings, not only within DELTA, but with our partners across campus and I’m often in conversations with peer institutions and vendors about the digital learning space. I also seem to find myself serving on committees and task forces quite a bit! I spend intentional time doing work around what I would call creating a culture of caring. Within DELTA, some of that work looks like having an open door policy for my office and taking the time to get to know people across the organization, planning and implementing staff retreats and reflecting and taking action on staff feedback about things that are working well and things to improve, holding bimonthly all-DELTA staff check-ins, talking to the team about our vision and values, goals, opportunities and challenges, working hard to advocate for staff members, and celebrating successes. External to DELTA, some of that work includes helping lead the Women in Tech group, supporting diversity and inclusion efforts in every space in which I have the chance to do so, and listening carefully to our partners and following through on commitments while being both candid and understanding of others’ needs and concerns. 

What are you looking forward to in your position in the coming year?
I’m looking forward to supporting the newly formed Office of Instructional Programs and continuing to work with NCSCaLE as we think about ways to continue to work more closely together. I’m excited about supporting the implementation of NC State’s new strategic plan. 

What is something you do outside of your job that helps you maintain a work-life balance?/What is a hobby you really enjoy or secret talent you have?
Outside of working at DELTA, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, reading, and honestly sometimes binging on Netflix when I want my brain to switch off for a bit.

I love to clog! I am a Certified Clogging Instructor, a credential given by C.L.O.G., the national clogging association. I teach clogging to both adults and middle/high school kids at the Center Stage School of Performing Arts in Fuquay-Varina. I enjoy attending clogging conventions with my daughter, Rachel, who is also a clogger. I’ve recently signed on to become the new club advisor for Pack Clogging at NC State, a group which I’m really looking forward to supporting. 

And, I also love to teach. I teach one graduate class each semester, EAC 580 Designing Instructional Systems in Training & Development, where I get to apply the tools and pedagogies of digital learning that DELTA supports while teaching this class. I truly enjoy working with students; working with them is a constant reminder of why I do what I do when wearing my DELTA hat. 

Paola Sztajn, Dean, College of Education

What do you like the most about your job?
The people with whom I get to work! Our College of Education has great students, staff, and faculty and working with them every day is a privilege. I also get to interact with the leadership at the university level and stakeholders at large, and I appreciate the vision and care there is from all groups regarding education. So, I get to work with great people who are making sure our college can be successful and lead the way in supporting education across the whole spectrum through knowledge generation and the preparation of effective professionals.

What is something you do in your position that more people should know about? 
I get to work with educators who are serving P-20 students across the state of North Carolina.  From teachers, to principals, to superintendents, to counselors, to those who work with adult learners, to educational psychologists, to museum leaders, to … you name it, and I get to interact with them to advance education and serve the state of North Carolina and beyond.

What are you looking forward to in your position in the coming year?
We are hiring many new colleagues and I look forward to welcoming them to our team and having them participate in shaping the future of the College of Education as we finalize and launch our strategic plan. 

What is something you do outside of your job that helps you maintain a work-life balance?
I practice yoga and meditation, and I walk. I try to book-end my days with exercise to clear and center my mind.

What is a hobby you really enjoy or secret talent you have?
I love traveling, going to new places, meeting new people, trying new food, and learning about different cultures. 

This post was originally published in Provost's Office News.