RALEIGH – For the Dean of NC State University’s College of Engineering, state support for higher education is both a tradition and an ongoing obligation.

“For many, many years, this state was probably the prime example of what it meant to support higher education,” Dean Louis Martin-Vega says in the accompanying video.

Martin-Vega came to North Carolina 10 years ago from Florida.

“In Florida and other places, people would look to North Carolina as an example of what it really means to understand the value of higher education in general,” he says.

NC State, the College of Engineering and the modern Centennial Campus wouldn’t exist without generous state support, and in turn they have helped transform the state into a leader in technology and innovation.

But that state support shouldn’t be taken for granted, Martin-Vega stresses.

“It’s so hard to build these things up over the years, and so easy to lose them if one doesn’t continue to understand the need for that commitment,” he says.  Voters’ approval in March of $2 billion in Connect NC bonds demonstrated that understanding.

Martin-Vega speaks about parents who tell him they appreciate the availability of high-quality engineering education at “one of the most reasonable costs” – and how he in turn appreciates them as taxpayers.

“Our commitment to the growth and development of this state and these young people is always our primary focus,” he says.