Long before anyone gave much thought to economic development, NC State was turning knowledge into practical, usable results for the citizens, businesses and communities of our state. A culture of creativity and innovation is evident throughout NC State and the university’s accomplished entrepreneurial tradition. In fact, NC State has launched over 63 companies and holds more than 500 active patents. All told, over 13,000 jobs have been created through these spin-offs, with more to come from Centennial Campus’ incubator companies.

Dr. James Goodnight and NC State colleagues originally created SAS to analyze agricultural-research data. Three decades later, SAS is doing things Goodnight never would have imagined in his days as a student and faculty member in statistics at NC State. And the partnership continues to thrive. SAS and NC State recently announced a new Analytics Initiative—an intensive one-year professional master’s degree that will give students an understanding of analytical concepts and hands-on experience with the same powerful tools used in industry today.

Dr. James Goodnight will be presenting a lecture entitled "Growing & Sustaining the Long-Term Enterprise", as part of the Entrepreneurs’ Lecture Series. It will be held, Monday, September 25, 2006 4:30 – 5:30 p.m., at the College of Textiles Convocation Center North Carolina State University. Reception will follow at 5:30 p.m.in the College of Textiles Atrium.

Read more about Dr. James Goodnight and the Entrepreneurs’ Lecture Series