Situated atop a bluff on the southern shore of Lake Raleigh on Centennial Campus, the Dorothy and Roy Park Alumni Center fulfills a 20-year dream for a formal gathering place for NC State alums. Made possible by a $5 million naming gift from Dorothy Dent Park of Ithaca, N.Y., the 59,000-square-foot facility honors both her late husband and his much-loved alma mater.
Featuring Italian marble flooring, double-curving staircases and a grand reception room with 28-foot ceilings, the center now stands as a welcoming home to NC State’s 165,000-plus alumni, giving them a gathering spot for reunions, a prime locale for post-game receptions and parties, and a comfortable place for university-related seminars.
Roy Park (’31) is known for many accomplishments, including his Park Communications Inc. media empire, as well as his 1949 launch of Hines-Park Foods with Duncan Hines, the author of popular consumer guidebooks — and cake mixes — of the day. Dorothy Park hopes her gift honoring Roy will inspire alumni to give back and help push their alma mater to even greater national prominence. “My husband and I always believed that the college years are just the beginning of university involvement,” she says.
In 1937, just six years out of college, Park was nominated for an Alumni Association committee. He accepted the appointment with customary zeal for service: “I will be very glad to serve and stand ready at all times to do anything possible. Please feel free to call upon me at any time you think I may contribute to the welfare of our college.” It’s fitting then that since its doors opened in 2006, the Dorothy and Roy Park Alumni Center has been a welcoming reminder of Roy Park’s spirit, drive and ambition.
Some life-changing moments happen by chance. Others require a little planning. High school sweethearts and NC State alumni Kathy (’74) and Herb Council (’78) know that being in the right place at the right time has many advantages. For instance, while still a student at NC State, Kathy met her future employer, Dr. James Goodnight, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of SAS. In 1977, Kathy became SAS Institute’s tenth employee. Today, she is Vice President of Publications at SAS, the world’s largest privately held software developer.
A Little Planning Goes a Long Way
The Councils also know that despite life’s fateful moments, a little planning can go a long way. Founder and owner of Council and Associates, Business and Estate Planning, Herb is an expert at helping individuals, businesses and counties (he spent two terms as a Wake County Commissioner) plan for the future. Collectively, both Councils are helping the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS) plan for its own future. Specifically, they established a $1.29 million trust that will create an endowment for merit-based scholarships in CHASS. The Kathy and Herb Council Merit Scholarship Endowment will help attract outstanding students to this important college. “We are so happy to support the College of Humanities and Social Sciences,” says Kathy. “We hope that this scholarship opportunity will encourage outstanding students to combine their liberal arts experience with their interests and talents in mathematics or a technical field.”
A Gift That Keeps Giving
Planned gifts such as the Councils’ represent a far-reaching way to ensure NC State’s future. Donors can set up a unitrust with assets, such as property or stock, that generate income during the donors’ lifetime. Thereafter, the principal goes directly to the beneficiary, in this case to CHASS, creating endowment income that will support students in perpetuity.
The Councils’ own planned gift illustrates their ongoing and now lifelong commitment to and support of CHASS. A former member of the CHASS Board of Advisers, with a term as Board President, Kathy has set up successful faculty and student co-operative exchanges between CHASS and SAS. Further highlighting this dedication, The Kathy and Herb Council Merit Scholarship Endowment will help NC State continue to educate students as well rounded and successful as both Kathy and Herb, showcasing the fact that NC State and CHASS are indeed a part of the Councils’ master plan.
Once home of the world’s largest manufacturer of sheets and towels, Kannapolis, N.C., suffered economic devastation when the town’s traditional textile industry bottomed out in the late 20th century. Hope for recovery seemed unlikely. Then David H. Murdock returned to town with a vision.
With the transformative goal of revitalizing Kannapolis and establishing the former mill town as a hotbed of nutrition-related scientific research, Murdock, owner of Dole Food Company, Inc., and former owner of Kannapolis-based Cannon Mills, launched the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) in collaboration with universities across the state. The purpose of this high-tech campus is to support and enable breakthrough discoveries related to nutrition, health and wellness, and nutritionally advanced fruits and vegetables. As Murdock explains, “The Research Campus will be a thriving scientific community where the best minds will shape the way we understand nutrition and its relationship to disease.”
Tapping NC State’s Expertise
As a testament to NC State’s research expertise and elite reputation in the agricultural sciences, Murdock donated $2 million to fund three David H. Murdock Distinguished Professorships. Matched with $1 million from the North Carolina Distinguished Professors Endowment, Murdock’s gift has enabled NC State University to create three new College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) faculty positions, attracting leaders in the scientific pursuit of more nutritious fruits and vegetables. These positions will be housed in the NCRC at NC State’s recently opened Fruit and Vegetable Science Institute. Dr. Mary Ann Lila, an internationally known scientist recruited from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, will direct the Institute.
The 16 universities within the University of North Carolina system, as well as Duke University and others, are all integral partners to the campus. Much of the research that takes place in the facility will draw on NCRC’s broader work in determining the optimal nutritional characteristics for a range of fruits and vegetables. In turn, NC State’s CALS faculty will use this nutritional information to develop plants that best meet these nutritional requirements to enhance human health, and to determine how best to produce those plants commercially.
Not only will the NC Research Campus change the face of nutrition-related science, it will change the face of Kannapolis as well. Already, many private-sector companies have announced plans to open offices on the Research Campus, providing new jobs to re-trained textile workers and some of the country’s top scientists and engineers in the biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device and other industries.
With four prominent College of Natural Resources (CNR) alumni within the Jordan family, it’s little surprise that the co-owners of Jordan Lumber Company of Mt. Gilead, N.C. wanted to give back to their alma mater collectively.
In recognition of the strong ties that bind them to the college, former N.C. Lieutenant Governor Robert B. Jordan, III (’54), Jack P. Jordan (’63), Genie Jordan Ussery (’75), and Robert B. Jordan, IV (’84) established the Jordan Family Endowment for Natural Resource Innovation to support faculty and students.
The first linked endowment at NC State, the $1.525 million Jordan Family Endowment supports a named professorship and fellowships for both an exceptional graduate student and an undergraduate student chosen to assist the Jordan Professor.
“NC State and the College of Natural Resources have played a huge role in our lives,” says Jack Jordan. “We’re proud to have at least one graduate from each of the college’s departments. But the college is not just a part of our past. Every week someone at Jordan Lumber is in touch with someone in the college. They have been invaluable to the success of our company. This is our way of giving back.”
Continuum of Scholarship
Set up within the North Carolina Natural Resources Foundation and the NC State Endowment Fund, the Jordan Family Endowment comprises the $400,000 Jordan Family Graduate Fellowship in Natural Resource Innovation, the $125,000 Jordan Family Undergraduate Honors Program, and the $1 million Jordan Family Endowed Professorship in Innovation, housed in the Endowment Fund. Together, the endowments will allow CNR to leverage academic expertise along with research support to address pioneering natural resource issues for the greater benefit of the natural resource community.
Dr. Vincent Chiang, the first Jordan Family Distinguished Professor for Natural Resource Innovation, is researching the use of genomics, novel gene regulation, and genetic transformation methods to create trees with high-performing wood for bioethanol production. The four-year support is worth more than $250,000 and gives outstanding CNR faculty such as Dr. Chiang — and promising graduate and undergraduate students — the opportunity to advance far-reaching natural resource research.
Community activist Barbara Goodmon recognized a need in the nonprofit sector. With her energy and commitment, and with a $1 million gift from the A.J. Fletcher Foundation, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS) launched the Institute for Nonprofits to help nonprofit organizations be more effective in addressing pressing social problems and develop future nonprofit leaders.
The Institute for Nonprofits provides educational programs, conducts research and carries out engagement activities that spark conversations and strengthen community expertise to benefit nonprofits. The interdisciplinary institute draws upon the interests and expertise of faculty, students and staff from across the NC State campus and beyond, building the capacity of North Carolina’s nonprofit organizations. Courses and an undergraduate minor offered through the Institute are designed with a theory-to-practice focus, and connect students to nonprofit organizations through service-learning activities. Research is conducted and findings are shared with nonprofit and community leaders to guide practice and inform policy. Community forums, workshops and expert seminars hosted by the Institute expand its reach and impact.
The gift from the A.J. Fletcher Foundation was a seed that is bearing fruit for the nonprofit sector. The Institute has received grants and contracts to support new programs, including a recent initiative to increase diversity and inclusion in nonprofit membership associations.
$2.84. $3.49. $3.87. $4.09. $3.89. $3.56. These numbers represent the financial rise and fall for a gallon of gas. That’s why now, more than ever, hybrid vehicles, which can get up to 100 miles per gallon, are becoming not just a hot choice but also a necessary one for many Americans.
No two companies better understand the implications of this trend toward the hybrid than Progress Energy and Duke Energy. That’s why both of the state’s largest electric utility companies have committed $1.25 million each over the next five years to the Advanced Transportation Energy Center (ATEC).
This new, public-private partnership will conduct research to find solutions to power generation challenges that may arise when more and more consumers tap into the supply grid to power their vehicles. As John Gilligan, NC State University’s former vice chancellor for research, attests, “One of the main motivations for forming ATEC is to address a major need in the electric power industry as large numbers of plug-in electric vehicles are coming into the market place.”
ATEC will call Centennial Campus home, right near the Semiconductor Power Electronics Center. Research will focus on creating the infrastructure — including charging stations that function like gas stations — needed to bolster use of hybrids; managing the power supply grid to meet demand and developing other energy sources to help the state handle its power supply at large. The center will also work on improving hybrid batteries to make them more efficient and powerful.
Empowering the College of Engineering
The ATEC commitments rounded out Progress Energy’s and Duke Energy’s giving throughout the Achieve! campaign. Both companies are long-time supporters of the College of Engineering, empowering the college through professorships and program support. Specifically, Progress Energy awarded the college $1.2 million to establish an endowed professorship in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s power program and an endowed professorship in the Department of Nuclear Engineering. The gift also created the Dean’s unrestricted endowment fund.
Duke Energy awarded the college $1.25 million, establishing a professorship in nuclear engineering and a professorship in the power program of electrical and computer engineering. The gift also established an endowment in support of K-12 engineering outreach activities, and renovated spaces in Page Hall and Burlington Laboratories. Duke Energy also committed $250,000 to the college to establish the Duke Energy Safety and Ergonomics Research Endowment.
In return for their long-term investments in the college and its role as a key contributor to their workforce development strategies, Progress Energy and Duke Energy have named spaces in Engineering Building II on Centennial Campus. Duke Energy, Progress Energy and NC State’s College of Engineering. Powerful partners.
“>” is the mathematical symbol for “greater than.” And it is easy to see that both NC State’s mathematics and statistics departments and a locally-based company named SAS are greater now than they were before.
SAS was born out of an innovative project that began in NC State’s Department of Statistics more than 30 years ago. Now, the world’s leading business intelligence software company has seen to it that future Wolfpack statisticians and mathematicians have a fitting place to make their own groundbreaking discoveries.
The new mathematics building project was originally part of the state’s 2000 Higher Education Bond Referendum, which called for the renovation of Harrelson Hall. Once it was determined that constructing a new facility for the departments of Mathematics and Statistics was a better option, SAS — specifically company co-founders and longtime NC State supporters James Goodnight and John Sall — stepped forward with a significant gift that made the project possible.
The result is a cutting-edge teaching and research facility that will be a showpiece not just for the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences — but also for the entire university. As Chancellor James Oblinger noted at the groundbreaking ceremony for the building, “There are few areas that have the breadth of impact of the quantitative sciences. Nearly every discipline on this campus will benefit from the kind of work that will be conducted in this building.”
When he was 14 years old, Duke Kimbrell (’49) started to work at Parkdale Mills in his hometown of Gastonia. “Without any money, any stock, or kin folk, I did whatever I was asked to do: sweeping floors, changing flats on carts, whatever they wanted me to do,” he recalls.
Upon returning from World War II, Kimbrell continued to prove that the fruits of hard work can be numerous. After earning his College of Textiles degree from NC State, Kimbrell went back to Parkdale Mills “so I could get a job.” By 1961, the industrious young man became the CEO of the company that launched his career.
Today, as the proud owner of the world’s top manufacturer of spun yarn, Kimbrell has guided Parkdale Mills through the precarious global textile market helping North Carolina remain not only first in non-wovens production, but also the fourth-largest apparel manufacturing state.
The Gift of Education
Still, Kimbrell is no stranger to the realities of the U.S. textile market. In Gaston County alone, nearly 100 mills have closed as manufacturing abroad continues to thrive. Knowing this, Kimbrell is committed to giving back to mill town families and communities. Specifically, he is giving back through the power of education — with the $3 million endowed Duke Kimbrell Scholarship Fund.
The full scholarships are awarded to students from towns where Parkdale Mills has plants — such as Kings Mountain, Lexington, Sanford and Gastonia. One such student is Courtney Anne Bolin, a textiles technology major, who notes, “Receiving the Kimbrell Scholarship has meant making life for my parents a little bit easier, and it has helped give me a motive to work very hard in my classes.” She adds, “My grandmother retired from Parkdale Mills, so I know it made her proud that I received the scholarship.”
Likewise, Kimbrell Scholar Morgan Meredith, a fashion and textile management major, says “The Kimbrell Scholarship has enabled me to focus more on my studies, because I did not have to stress about getting a job to help pay for my college bills. The biggest benefit of receiving the Kimbrell Scholarship has been the financial assistance that it provided to my family and me.”
Kimbrell did not limit the scholarship to College of Textiles students, however, because he feels strongly that “It’s more important that students get an education”— even if they are not planning to pursue a career in textiles. And although Kimbrell “would like to see the students return to the community,” doing so is not a requirement of the scholarship. He adds, though, that, “if they have a job, I think they will.” Just as Kimbrell himself did in 1949.
Since it was established in 1992, NC State’s College of Management has carved a niche for itself as a comprehensive business college with uniquely focused graduate and undergraduate programs that prepare individuals for careers in today’s dynamic, technology-rich, global business environment. The college’s faculty integrate real world experiences with classroom instruction, drawing on their research and practical experience. Project-based classes have student teams working with companies to provide solutions to real issues being faced by businesses and industries today. This approach is particularly effective for students transitioning from a technical background to management roles.
Perhaps no one exemplifies how successful such a transition can be better than Benjamin Jenkins (’68), vice chairman and president of the General Bank, Wachovia. A longtime supporter and friend of NC State, Jenkins earned his bachelor’s degree in textiles chemistry before pursuing an MBA from the University of Alabama. Jenkins’ impressive business career exemplifies the power of channeling a technology-oriented undergraduate experience into senior management leadership.
The Jenkins Graduate School of Management
In recognition of Jenkins’ financial support of NC State, his model career, and ongoing commitment to excellence, NC State named the graduate programs in the College of Management the Jenkins Graduate School of Management. “The College of Management is very pleased to be associated with the values and achievements that have marked Ben’s 35-year career with Wachovia,” notes Ira R. Weiss, dean of the college. Weiss adds, “His career path — transitioning from a technology-focused undergraduate degree to senior leadership positions with Wachovia — parallels the transition that many of our technology-oriented graduate students seek in coming to our programs.”
Ben Jenkins’ gift will go to support three endowed professorships, one each in the departments of accounting, business management and economics. A related gift from Wachovia supports fellowships for students in the Jenkins Graduate School’s three programs — the Master of Accounting (MAC) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs, as well as the Graduate Economics Program, offered jointly by the College of Management and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
The Jenkins Graduate School will continue to advance its mission of helping technically-trained undergraduates become top-notch graduate business students and ultimately, future business leaders. “Ben’s financial support and ongoing relationship with the college will help us continue to strengthen and grow our uniquely technology-focused graduate programs in accounting, management and economics,” Weiss said.
Jenkins has long supported the college’s mission: “It’s not just the technical skills that you need to be successful,” says Jenkins. “It’s the people skills. Management programs round out a person’s prior education, providing the skill sets needed for success in business today. This is what I think the college and this graduate school can offer to technology-based graduate students. That’s why I’m so excited about this honor.”
NC State’s Paper Science and Engineering (PSE) program is well known for training stellar scientists and engineers in the field of paper science, and equally valued by students for its small size, approach to training and personal attention. The PSE program carries much clout — and promise — in the industry with a nearly 100 percent placement rate for PSE graduates. In fact, 80 to 100 percent of graduates find themselves in the enviable position of entertaining one or more high-paying job offers while still in school.
Opportunities like these and her respect for the education she received from the College of Natural Resources inspired graduate Mary Ellen May Johnson (’06) to pledge $15,000 to the PSE program — before she graduated.
Johnson made the pledge while still a student, later obtaining a match by her employer, Sonoco Products Company, establishing the Mary Ellen May Johnson Endowed Scholarship in Paper Science and Engineering. The scholarship benefits out-of-state, incoming freshman enrolled in Paper Science and Engineering. “I enrolled in the program on a merit scholarship from the Pulp and Paper Foundation. This is my way of giving back to the university that helped set me on my current career path,” says Johnson.