Industrial-Sized Support

At his 2004 commencement address to graduates of the College of Design, L. Franklin Bost (’68) said, “Designers have always changed the future: from the creation of the wheel, to the cotton gin, to manned flight, to penicillin, to the electronic computer. Exciting new technologies are in their initial stages of development right now. Designers will be needed to convert these emerging technologies into new realities.” Driven by the eye — and expertise — of industrial designers, those technologies, according to Bost, include the human genome project, tissue engineering, nanotechnology and space flight.

Supporting his fundamental beliefs about the power of design, Bost, along with his wife, Janet, is seeing to it that NC State’s industrial design graduate students will become important players in changing the future through design. Specifically, the Bosts pledged $100,000 to endow a partial fellowship fund for the Department of Industrial Design, establishing the L. Franklin Bost Industrial Design Fellowship.

A Gift That Keeps On Giving
The Bosts’ commitment raises the bar for future donors and is making a significant impact on fellowship recipients and their education. Additional funds from the Bosts have provided fellowship awards while the fund was building to endowment, allowing more than 20 students to be named Bost Fellows.

Two Bost Fellows who earned their master’s in industrial design from the College of Design, Ryan Harrison (’05) and Chuck Messer (’04) along with his partners at Tackle Design, have established two new annual scholarships to show their appreciation. The fact that recent alumni established these scholarships at the beginning of their careers is testament to the promise and value of the education received at NC State.

The fellowship illustrates Bost’s support of both the product design profession and the industry’s future leaders. Bost is currently the Director of Design Instruction for the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and is also President and Chief Executive Officer of SpherIngenics, Inc., a company that focuses on commercializing stem cell delivery systems and products for reconstructive surgery.

Without question, Bost, the College of Design’s 2003 Distinguished Alumnus, is a role model and mentor for today’s industrial design students — both at NC State and throughout the country. Marvin J. Malecha, dean of the College of Design, notes that, “At the College of Design and at NC State, Franklin gives of his time, expertise and resources to improve students’ educational experiences. Franklin is an alumnus who has combined his knowledge of design and business, as well as his spirit of community, to make a remarkable difference in the quality of life for countless people.” Malecha adds, “We look to him as an example for our graduates to emulate.”