Change Your State was proposed by a group of students in Dr. Lynn Ennis’ MBA Creativity Class during spring semester 2010. Dr. Ennis passed away unexpectedly in July 2011 but her impact at NC State will be felt for years to come through her work at the Gregg Museum and with the Change Your State behavior change campaign.

Energy Management and the University Sustainability Office posed a problem to Dr. Ennis' class to, "develop an energy awareness campaign for NC State." Seven groups accepted the challenge with one developing the tag 'Change Your State.' The Community and Culture working group of the Campus Environmental Sustainability Team (CEST) then reviewed the most creative elements of the seven proposals. The working group, consisting of campus communications specialists, formed key messages, the logo and the Do it in the Dark energy competition.

In the first three years, Change Your State will focus on energy. However, the campaign is meant to be suitable for a variety of awareness opportunities. For instance, in the third year the campaign could move to a focus of 'Try Transit' or 'Buy Local.' The future key messages of this holistic campaign will be developed, reviewed and recommended by CEST and the Community and Culture working group.

Energy Management and the University Sustainability Office would like to thank each of these offices for their time and effort in developing and supporting Change Your State: University Housing, University Dining, Athletics, University Communications, Campus Recreation, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Office of Information Technology, College of Engineering, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, College of Natural Resources, NC Solar Center, University Transportation, Waste Reduction & Recycling and the Environmental Science degree program.