Woodson Hall: Transforming the Sciences and the Brickyard

Our alumni and friends shape NC State — its beloved spaces and the faculty, staff and students who occupy them. Their generous gifts equip us with the resources we need to put our big ideas into action. One of our latest endeavors is the Integrative Sciences Initiative, which brings together chemists, biologists, physicists, engineers and mathematicians to take NC State’s molecular science research and education to the next level. 

Construction is underway on the initiative’s hub, a 153,000 square-foot building at the heart of NC State’s campus. The building, Woodson Hall, will consist of five levels of state-of-the-art research, education, collaboration and amenity spaces in which faculty and students can teach, learn and develop molecular solutions to the most pressing human, animal and plant health challenges. 

It’s a huge undertaking, and we couldn’t do it without the support of our alumni and friends. A number of generous donors, including Cathy Sigal ’76, have already stepped in to help fund Woodson Hall, making it a true Wolfpack community effort.

Celebrating Transformation

The site where Woodson Hall will stand has a history of boldly designed buildings. Harrelson Hall, the first-ever cylindrical building on a college campus, opened its doors there in 1962. Its architects were looking to try something new, but the building’s design proved impractical and it was demolished in 2016. In its place, NC State is building a state-of-the-art hub for scientific innovation and collaboration.

Sigal, who remembers taking math classes in Harrelson Hall, is excited for the transformation. 

“We use the word ‘transformative’ a lot, but I think Woodson Hall — and its namesake, Chancellor Randy Woodson — truly fits that description,” she said. “Throughout his tenure at NC State, the chancellor has been a strong advocate of interdisciplinarity, so a gift in support of the University’s new interdisciplinary hub named for the Woodsons couldn’t be more appropriate. Students will benefit enormously from its teaching and research spaces. I am very excited to provide support for this transformative building.”

Woodson Hall’s strategic location — near other science buildings at the heart of campus — supports its purpose of encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration and making science accessible to the wider community. 

“It is the perfect spot for Woodson Hall, because it bridges the sciences and engineering fields,” Sigal said. “It’s right there in the middle of the Brickyard, and very interconnected with all of these other disciplines.” 

Sigal, who earned her bachelor’s in chemistry from NC State, credits the university’s rigorous academics and experiential learning opportunities with setting her up for success. She went on to obtain graduate degrees from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton University, and had a fruitful career in the pharmaceutical industry and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She’s excited to contribute to the transformation of STEM-related academics and hands-on learning for future NC State students. 

“Collaboration across disciplines is vital in our rapidly changing world,” Sigal said. “It’s important to see the interconnectedness of the STEM fields and how different approaches can work together to solve tough problems. Providing the infrastructure of Woodson Hall to facilitate interdisciplinary interaction is essential.”

Honoring NC State Greats

The third floor lounge and the fourth floor director’s suite of Woodson Hall will be named after two late NC State chemistry professors, Forrest Hentz and Bill Tucker, respectively, thanks to Sigal’s six-figure gift. 

Sigal took Chemistry 101 with Hentz as a first-year student and his class made such an impression on her that she changed her major from mathematics to chemistry. She remembers Tucker as an important and positive presence in the Department of Chemistry. 

“The research in Woodson Hall will focus on advancing the molecular sciences, so it is especially fitting to honor Professors Hentz and Tucker, who taught ‘molecular basics’ for decades,” Sigal said. “They were both all about supporting and mentoring their students, so I thought naming collaborative spaces after them would be a wonderful way to remember them.” 

Sigal is no stranger to supporting NC State. She’s a longtime donor and friend of the university, currently serving on the NC State Board of Visitors and Wolfpack Women in Philanthropy and having previously served on the College of Sciences Foundation Board of Directors. Sigal has also been involved with various student networking, alumni and campaign events at the College of Sciences. She is a lifetime member of the NC State Alumni Association and a 2023 recipient of the Watauga Medal, NC State’s highest nonacademic honor. 

In 2004, she endowed a scholarship fund in honor of a fellow NC State alumnus — her father, Thomas S. Teague ’36. The endowment supports undergraduate students in the College of Sciences. In 2020, she also endowed the Virginia Stoddart Teague Extraordinary Opportunity Scholarship Endowment in honor of her mother.

“Both my parents placed a very high value on education,” Sigal said. “They wanted me to focus on my studies and not have the burden of worrying about paying for my college tuition and board. I know so many students don’t have that luxury, so it was especially meaningful for me to create scholarships in memory of my parents that help students fund their education.” 

Through her involvement at NC State, Sigal has seen how a person’s time, talent and treasure can strengthen the university. She hopes her support of Woodson Hall will enhance STEM education at NC State. 

“I feel that supporting higher education has an amplifying effect and contributes to a better society through educational access and quality,” Sigal said. “As an individual donor, that’s an empowering concept.”