Engineering a Better Tomorrow
Endowed professorships are the most important vehicle for recruiting and retaining talented research faculty. Endowments create funds that are used for salary support and research activities, including graduate assistants, equipment and course development. Through a matching program for distinguished professorships, the North Carolina General Assembly demonstrates its commitment to higher education and the importance that research faculty have on the state, its economy and the education of its citizens.
Graduate students are primary agents of innovation within research-intensive schools of engineering like ours. Private support is essential to succeeding in the intense competition for top graduate students. Many of these students innovate in ways that can boost North Carolina's economy for years to come. Leading LED and semiconductor maker Cree, Inc., headquartered in Durham, NC, was founded by graduate students who pursued the technological foundation of this revolutionary company in the College of Engineering at NC State. The minimum level to endow a graduate fellowship, which will be named for the donor in perpetuity, is $300,000.
Endowed scholarships provide donors with perhaps the greatest opportunity to make an impact on the greatest number of lives. These endowments are crucial to our ability to draw the best students from North Carolina and beyond into the College of Engineering, where their education will propel them to become the leaders of tomorrow. An endowment of $150,000 generates annual income roughly equivalent to a full year of tuition and fees. Endowments can be established for a minimum of $25,000.
The Foundation also runs the Dean's Circle, which secures private support from alumni and friends for scholarships and fellowships.
Through its many academic programs, the College provides students with a wealth of opportunities to broaden their experiences. Donors can build new opportunities or greatly enhance existing programs to foster collaboration and team-building, and expose students and faculty to new and important ideas.
Engineering alumnus Thomas K. Laundon has made a gift to two unique education programs at NC State.
The $125,000 gift supports the Benjamin Franklin Scholars Program and the Thomas Jefferson Scholars Program, dual-degree programs that pair coursework in engineering or agriculture and life sciences with humanities and social sciences. Each program will receive half the gift, or $62,500. Read more >
Through a matching program for distinguished professorships, the state of North Carolina demonstrates its commitment to higher education and the importance that research faculty have on the state, its economy and the education of its citizens. We invite donors to leverage their philanthropy through participation in the program. Gifts are payable over a period of five years.
$2,000,000 endowed professorship (private gift = $1,333,000; matching grant = $667,000)
$1,500,000 endowed professorship (private gift = $1,000,000; matching grant = $500,000)
$1,000,000 endowed professorship (private gift = $666,000; matching grant = $334,000)
Minimum $500,000 endowed professorship (private gift = $333,000; matching grant = $167,000)