NC State’s College of Textiles has been renamed the Wilson College of Textiles after receiving a $28 million donation from the Wilson family, the largest donation in the College of Textiles’s history. Alumnus Frederick Eugene Wilson Jr. and his family presented NC State with the donation.
Cres Wilson Calabrese, Wilson’s daughter, is vice chairman and chief strategy officer for Piedmont Chemical Industries Inc. Calabrese graduated from NC State in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in textile chemistry.
Calabrese explained how there were many factors that went into her family’s decision to donate to the College of Textiles. One of the biggest reasons was the fact that the Wilson College of Textiles is the lone textile college in the United States.
“The biggest standout for us is the fact that it is the last college of textiles,” Calabrese said. “It is the one who has hung in there and weathered the changes and we realized that, in order for it to continue to provide what it provided for us, it had to have some support. It was a way for us to give back and ensure the future for all the students that are there now and that are coming in the future and the industry that relies on it for support.”
Chancellor Randy Woodson talked more about NC State’s role as the only remaining textiles college in the U.S.
“[North Carolina] has always been one of the leading textile states in the country,” Woodson said. “There was a real interest in growing the science and expertise in the textile industry to support it. Over time, as much of the industry changed and went overseas, a lot of universities got out of that business. We, in contrast, reinvested.”
According to Woodson, the donation is going to be invested in an endowment. Because of this endowment, the college will be able to support itself in the case that the state reduces funding towards public universities.
“What is really powerful about this donation is it creates an endowment,” Woodson said. “Endowments of the university are essentially savings accounts where the program benefits from the interest earned on the account. Having an endowment ensures that the money is always there and grows over time.”
Woodson said he is confident in the ability of this donation to strengthen the college as well as the students and faculty within it.
Dean David Hinks of the Wilson College of Textiles expressed his gratitude to the Wilson family for their donation.
“I felt humbled and so very grateful for their commitment to the success of the now-Wilson college, the success of the university and their trust in us,” Hinks said.
According to Hinks, the college is in the process of forming a plan that will use the money to benefit students, faculty and staff.
“We have a strategic plan in the Wilson College [of Textiles] that we are following,” Hinks said. “The first goal of our college is student success and the next is supporting our faculty to be successful as well. The funds will be used to help our students succeed and, through that, our faculty succeed.
Hinks believes that this donation will not only elevate the value of the Wilson College of Textiles, but NC State as a whole.
Calabrese hopes that this donation is just be the beginning of continued support for the college.
“There has been a lot of excitement from students to professors and the dean and our family as well,” Calabrese said. “The excitement is very contagious and that makes it even better. We hope this will just be the beginning of that continued excitement, support and investment in the future of the [Wilson] College of Textiles and the textile industry.”
Chancellor Randy Woodson speaks at the 2018 Fall Chancellor's Address on Friday, Nov. 2 in Talley Student Union during Red and White Week. During the address, the chancellor unveiled the new name of the Wilson College of Textiles, in honor of the Wilson family who donated $28 million to the college.
