NC State College of Education begins plans for a new center for research-to-practice innovation.

Professor Hiller Spires joins as founding director and helps build the institute’s vision, mission, funding and partnerships.

Friday Institute conducts teacher focus group, hosts naming luncheon and ceremony, and establishes National Advisory Board and NC State Faculty Advisory Committee.

Friday Institute hosts its first Friday Forum.

April 15: Friday Institute building groundbreaking.
August 10: Construction begins.

Friday Institute officially opens Nov. 11 on Centennial Campus and named in honor of UNC System President William C. Friday and his wife Ida.

First Friday Medal awarded to Kenneth Branch, founding principal of Centennial Campus Magnet Middle School.

Glenn Kleiman named the Friday Institute’s second executive director.

Friday Institute plays a key role in securing $400 million in education funding for the state of North Carolina through the federal Race to the Top program.

MOOC-Eds (Massive Open Online Courses for Educators) launch and is among the first large-scale online professional development programs in the U.S. specifically for educators.

North Carolina Digital Learning Plan is published, providing a roadmap to transform education statewide through digital innovation.

Computer Science for All – North Carolina launches in partnership with Code.org. The Friday Institute begins training hundreds of NC K-12 teachers to implement computer science curriculum.

Carla Johnson is named the Friday Institute’s third executive director.

Hiller Spires returns as the Friday Institute’s fourth executive director

Partnering with PBS NC and NCDPI, the At-Home Learning Initiative was created, facilitating the creation and implementation of 192 literacy and math lessons for PreK-5 students.

To continue its commitment to support educators and provide resources for teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Friday Institute expands and updates its free online courses for educators. By mid 2020, it had served approximately 70K educators.

Under the School Connectively Initiative, the Friday Institute collaborates with the NC Department of Information Technology to audit and verify broadband service.

Partnering with MCNC, the Friday Institute enables the planning and implementation of broadband and asset security across 319 public school units in North Carolina.

Krista Glazewski is named the Friday Institute’s fifth executive director.

Computer science teams train the most new Code.org teachers in grades 6-12 nationwide.

The Friday Institute celebrates 20 years operating on NC State’s Centennial Campus.