Largest Gift to NC State includes $37 Million Endowment, Naming of the Poole College of Management
“Giving this kind of money and making this kind of a gift is important,” said Lonnie C. Poole, Jr., founder of Waste Industries, in his remarks at the December 17, 2010, announcement of the $40 million gift that he and his wife, Carol Johnson Poole, gave to North Carolina State University.The substantial part of the Pooles’ gift, $37 million, funds an endowment to support NC State’s College of Management, which is now named The Lonnie C. Poole Jr. College of Management.
New banners with the Poole College of Management logo were unfurled as Woodson announced the college’s new name to a capacity crowd in Nelson Auditorium.
“With this transformational gift, it’s a new day for NC State. Today, we send a signal to the rest of the state and to the country that NC State University is prepared to compete on the highest national levels. Donors like Lonnie and Carol Poole understand that this university can and will use their gifts to make a broad impact that is felt well beyond our campus,” Woodson said.
In his remarks, Ira Weiss, dean of the college, announced that “we are going to create a Center of Excellence in Sustainability within the Poole College of Management. We plan to set an academic, research and outreach agenda that will put the Poole College of Management in the forefront of business leadership in the area of sustainability.”
In addition to the new center of excellence, the Poole College of Management endowment will support development of other new programs, student scholarships and fellowships, faculty research and other college development activities, said NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson.
“This endowment will enable us to advance the college to a new era by expanding and complementing our focus on technology, innovation, entrepreneurship and globalization with a new, strong emphasis in the area of sustainability,” said Ira R. Weiss, dean of the Poole College of Management.
“NC State has long been known for its work in sustainability. As a business college, we understand that sustainability is a critical business imperative. It impacts our society, our economy and, most importantly, the environment. It also impacts the corporate bottom line,” he said. “We need to educate future leaders to view sustainability – and environmental impact – as complementary to innovation and entrepreneurship, and to show that it is not only socially responsible but that it makes good business sense, and must become a core value. Technology will play a huge role in sustainability innovation, and we here at NC State and in Research Triangle Park are in a great place to adopt sustainability and environmental impact as an ethical component of building future businesses,” he said.
“This endowment also will allow us to compete for new faculty and to retain current faculty through recognition of leadership and seed funding for research,” Weiss said.
The Pooles’ gift includes $2.5 million to fund The Carol Johnson Poole Club House at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on NC State’s Centennial Campus. The Carol Johnson Poole Endowment for Humanities and Social Sciences at NC State will be funded with $500,000 from the gift.
Lonnie Poole is the founder of Raleigh-based Waste Industries USA Inc. He is a long-time friend and supporter of NC State University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1959. He is a member and vice chairman of the Board of Directors for the North Carolina State University Foundation and also provided a naming gift for the Lonnie Poole Golf Course.
Photo
Dr. Jon Bartley, professor of accounting and second dean of the college (1999-2004); Dr. Dick Lewis, founding dean of the college (1992-1999); Dr. Ira R. Weiss, dean (2005-present); Lonnie Poole; NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson.
About the Poole College of Management
The College of Management was established at NC State in 1992 to provide undergraduate and graduate management education that complements the university’s strengths in engineering and technology. Its educational programs focus on preparing individuals for careers in today’s technology focused global marketplace.
Through its Jenkins Graduate School of Management, named in 2007, the college provides the Master of Accounting, Master of Business Administration, and Master of Global Innovation Management programs. It also offers Economics Graduate Programs jointly with NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, including masters and doctoral degree options. Through its Office of Undergraduate Programs, the college offers bachelor degree programs in accounting, business management and economics. The college’s faculty is organized in four departments: accounting, business management, economics, and management, innovation and entrepreneurship. It has 117 full-time faculty members, about 2500 undergraduate students and 740 graduate students.
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