NC State announced a little over a year ago today the retirement of Vice Chancellor Tom Stafford.

Dr. Tom Stafford, vice chancellor for student affairs, has announced that he will retire by mid-2012 after a 40-year career with NC State.

Stafford, who became vice chancellor in 1983, has served in research and administrative positions at the university since 1971.

The reputation Stafford has earned within much of the NC State community has been of an enemy to ‘fun’ student life, specifically athletic traditions and Greek life.  Are those allegations fair?  We’ll have more of that later on WolfpackWorld.com!

For now, our friends at StateFansNation.com have covered a lot of the more negative stories on Tom Stafford over the years.  Here is a short “Reader’s Digest”:

Tom Stafford’s stance on ending Camp-Out…

…but then shortly before 5:00pm on Thursday, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Tom Stafford announced that the Campus Community Committee’s decision to make people *actually* camp out to get tickets was unfair to students who did not — and he ordered that all tickets be awarded by lottery, with a set amount of tickets for students who camped out and a set amount of tickets for students who don’t.

In an email response to his decision, Student Body President Bobby Mills supported this plan, saying “Dr. Stafford, I totally agree with you… I warned the committee about this decision [to make students camp out].”

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If your odds of getting a ticket for camping out are decided at random, and the odds of getting a ticket if you *don’t* camp out are decided at random, there’s essentially no incentive to camp out.

In other words, this was an intentional sabotage of the Campout tradition.

Technician tells Tom Stafford to shape-up or ship-out!

hey don’t hesitate to place the spotlight on Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Tom Stafford. Under Stafford’s reign, NC State has seen the end of institutional traditions such as student campouts, The Lawn Party and Wolfstock while other key social elements to the student experience like Hillsborough Street and the Greek system of deteriorated to near death. (Just to name a few)

Stafford’s approach to risk management.

You see, at NC State risk management = risk avoidance.

It is the ONLY way to insure that the University becomes a commuter school with no Wolfstocks, no lawn parties, no band parties, no post-big-win-celebrations, limited tailgating, no greek system of which to speak, no Hillsborough Street to enjoy and absolutely no social fabric to connect current students or to bridge the current student body to the alums of old. The University has done a fantabulous job of achieving these risk-free goals!! Bravo, Mr. Stafford!!

The only thing you have to ask yourself is if this is the whole story.  Is it?  Stay tuned…