N.C. State gets $40 million gift

PJ staff report | December 17, 2010

Carol and Lonnie Poole

RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina State University has received a $40 million gift from alumnus Lonnie C. Poole, Jr., and his wife, Carol, the largest gift in the 123-year history of the school.

"With this transformational gift, it's a new day for N.C. State," Randy Woodson, chancellor of the university, says in a statement. "Today, we send a signal to the rest of the state and to the country that N.C. State University is prepared to compete on the highest national levels."

Poole, founder of Raleigh-based Waste Management Industries USA, has designated $37 million of the gift to fund an endowment for the university's College of Management, which now bears Poole's name.

The gift to the Lonnie C. Poole Jr. College of Management will be used to create new programs, scholarships and fellowships and to fund faculty research.

"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," Ira R. Weiss, dean of the college, says in a statement.

A 1959 graduate with a degree in civil engineering, Poole has been a long-time friend and financial supporter of the university, serving on the board of the university's foundation and funding the school's new golf course.

His latest gift includes $2.5 million to create the Carol Johnson Poole Club House at the Lonnie C. Poole Golf Course, located on the university's Centennial Campus.

And $500,000 will fund the Carol Johnson Poole Endowment for Humanities and Social Sciences at N.C. State.

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