Alumnus creates professorship in CCEE
The Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University has a newly endowed faculty position, thanks to a gift from a generous alumnus.
S. James “Jim” Ellen Jr., who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering with a construction option in 1959, made the $333,000 gift to create the professorship. His gift will be supplemented by matching funds from the state’s Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund to create a $500,000 distinguished professorship.
“We are grateful to Jim Ellen for making this generous gift,” said Dr. Louis Martin-Vega, dean of the College of Engineering. “Attracting and retaining top faculty are among our highest priorities, and the ability to offer this endowed professorship is a valuable tool that will improve civil, construction, and environmental engineering research and education here at NC State.”
Ellen is a Rocky Mount, NC, native who owns Capital Masonry, a commercial masonry contractor in Richmond, Va. His ties to NC State go back almost a century, he said, noting that an uncle graduated in the 1910s. His brothers Julius and William also received civil engineering-construction degrees from NC State.
Funds from the S. James Ellen Jr. Distinguished Professorship in Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering can be used to provide salary support for students or faculty working with the professor as well as professional development activities, research materials, travel and meal expenses and scholarly publications.
“I’ve reached a point where I can afford to give back, and NC State was a big part of my life and success,” Ellen said.
