www.nineronline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/03/23/4060fda74c046
UNCC receives $3 million in gift commitments
Buildings, main entrance continue to transform university campus
March 23, 2004
CHARLOTTE – Three Charlotte families will be connected forever with UNC Charlotte with pledges totaling $3 million that will enhance the university’s capability to serve students, alumni and the greater regional community for years to follow. The Cato, Dickson and Harris family commitments of $1 million each will be used for university programs, buildings and structures that will bear donors’ names.
“UNC Charlotte’s growth through the years has been greatly enhanced by the personal involvement and financial support provided by the Cato, Dickson and Harris families, which we deeply appreciate,” said James Woodward, chancellor of UNCC. “Their generosity helps ensure not only strong academic and alumni affairs programs for the future, but also an aesthetically pleasing environment that faculty, staff, students and alumni can point to with pride for years to come. Our campus is undergoing a physical transformation that will truly make UNCC a distinctive destination for our city and region.”
The admissions building, to be named Cato Hall after the Wayland Cato Jr. family, is located near the new Robinson Hall and the Storrs Building, which houses UNCC’s College of Architecture. The Dickson gift will help fund a new gate that will frame a new main entrance to the university. Groundbreaking for the Harris Alumni Center is slated for this summer, and the Bissell House (chancellor’s residence) is under construction; both buildings will be located on Cameron Boulevard, which will eventually become an internal loop road circling the academic heart of the campus.
Wayland Cato Jr. of Charlotte has pledged $1 million to establish an endowed graduate fellowship program to be known as the “Wayland H. Cato Jr. Endowed Fellowship Fund” for outstanding doctoral students. In appreciation of this commitment and his long service to UNCC, the new Admissions Building will be named in his honor. Cato, also a former member of the UNCC Foundation Board, received a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree in 2000 from the university.
The Dickson Foundation and Harris-Teeter, Inc., a subsidiary of Ruddick Corporation, have pledged $1 million ($750,000 and $250,000, respectively) to construct new entrance gates for the UNCC campus.
The Foundation’s trustees include brothers Alan and Stuart Dickson, both of Charlotte, who are former UNCC Foundation Board members and longtime UNCC supporters. Stuart Dickson served as a member of the university’s board of trustees from 1983-91 and received an honorary doctorate of public service from UNCC in 1990.
Trustees of the Harris Foundation have pledged $1 million to the university’s new Alumni Center, a multi-use complex that will serve as a point of reconnection for more than 70,000 university alumni. In appreciation of this generosity and the many years of service to UNCC by members of the Harris family, the university will name the building the Harris Alumni Center. The foundation’s trustees – children of the late James and Angelia Harris – include:
Cameron M. Harris, a 1968 UNC Charlotte graduate and Alumni Hall of Fame member and Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient whose wife, Dorothy Waller (Dee-Dee) Harris, served as a UNC Charlotte trustee from 1995-2001;
John W. Harris, a Charlotte real estate developer and donor to the Harris Distinguished Insurance Professorship (Belk College of Business); and
Sara Harris Bissell, a former UNC Charlotte trustee from 1983-89, whose husband, Howard “Smoky” Bissell currently chairs the university’s Board of Trustees plus UNC Charlotte’s $100 million It Takes a Gift Campaign.
The Harris family involvement continues a long tradition of support for UNCC. Angelia Harris’ father, former North Carolina Governor Cameron Morrison, has a lasting legacy on campus in the form of the Cameron Morrison Scholarship. Her husband, James Harris, served as a trustee of the UNCC Foundation and received an honorary doctorate of public service in 1984 for exceptional service to the university.
The Harris Alumni Center will include meeting space, conference and reception areas and offices for the alumni affairs staff. The center also will house the Alumni Hall of Fame, which will chronicle the university’s history, recognize honored alumni and provide a place for reflection. The Harris Alumni Center, which will be located on Toby Creek Road, is being built entirely with private funds.
We have some deep pockets that need to be further nurtured.
Lake, what, if anything, has changed since this was first posted back in March?
March of last year no less.
Nothing. Just going over an old file and posted this for those that get on the board and complain that Lowes or the speedway etc. don’t give us any money. we have many routes we can take.
Lake, you make an excellent point.
Thanks for re-posting this.
Anything like this that enhances the campus is great news. Just like anything else… first impressions go a long way.
[i]Originally posted by lake49er[/i]@Aug 17 2005, 05:17 PM [b] The Dickson Foundation and Harris-Teeter, Inc., a subsidiary of Ruddick Corporation, have pledged $1 million ($750,000 and $250,000, respectively) to construct new entrance gates for the UNCC campus. [/b]Can someone please tell me the projected start and completion date for the new FRONT of campus? I can't find it anywhere.
Read in the Big O this morning that Winthrop had received a gift of $1.5 million for enhancements to their baseball stadium, which is already pretty nice being less than 5 years old.
[i]Originally posted by LeftyNiner @ Posted on Aug 18 2005[/i]@ 08:50 AM [b]Can someone please tell me the projected start and completion date for the new FRONT of campus? I can't find it anywhere.[/b]According to the link below, groundbreaking is scheduled for spring '06. Currently, the project is still in the design stage.
[i]Originally posted by UpState49er+Sep 12 2005, 08:42 AM-->
[b]QUOTE[/b] (UpState49er @ Sep 12 2005, 08:42 AM)
At this weeks student senate meeting we will have blueprints for the new entrance. Design has just been completed.
I am going to join student senate and filibuster any attempt at destroying the highrises…seriously.
[i]Originally posted by lutz9er[/i]@Sep 12 2005, 10:29 AM [b] I am going to join student senate and filibuster any attempt at destroying the highrises......seriously. [/b]I'm going to be there with a grill, burgers, and beer.