College of Natural Resources Raises Over $41.5M During Fundraising Campaign

The College of Natural Resources has raised more than $41.5 million as part of the Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign, surpassing its goal of $35 million. NC State publicly launched the $1.6 billion fundraising campaign, the largest and most ambitious in its history, in October 2016. The campaign ended in December 2021. 

In total, more than 5,300 donors gave $41,564,020 to the college. More than 180 of those donors gave $25,000 or more, with the single largest gift totaling $7 million. The funds provided scholarships for students, research funding for faculty, and much more.

“We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of the alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends who came together to invest in the future of our college during the Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign,” Dean Myron Floyd said. “We look forward to seeing the many ways these gifts benefit our community in the years to come.”

During the campaign, the college established more than 80 endowments thanks to donor support. That included 65 student support endowments for scholarships, graduate fellowships and experiential learning opportunities. 

Bob Kellison, a professor emeritus, and his wife, Larita, for example, recently established the Bob Kellison Family Extraordinary Opportunity Scholarship Endowment to provide need-based scholarships for undergraduate students within the college.

At the same time, the college hosted two highly successful Day of Giving events during the campaign, with donors raising more than $2 million for several high-impact funds, including the Terry Student Assistance and Enrichment Fund.

Donor support from the campaign also provided opportunities for the college’s faculty to further develop their research through four named professorships, one of which is set to support a faculty member studying global change and wildlife conservation. 

The college’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives also benefited from donor support throughout the campaign. A gift from Resource Management Service LLC, for example, established the Forester of the Future Fund to help attract and support students from historically underrepresented populations in the forestry profession. 

Additionally, thanks to a $500,000 gift from The Dale Earnhardt Foundation, the college was able to launch The Dale Earnhardt Legacy Program, which provides a non-traditional pathway to NC State for students who are interested in studying natural resources but were not initially admitted as freshmen. 

Lara Brown de Fuenmayor, assistant dean for advancement at the College of Natural Resources, said the campaign’s success demonstrates the continued commitment and dedication of the NC State community to providing students and faculty with the tools they need to succeed in an ever-changing world.

“To be able to exceed our goal, especially amid a pandemic, shows that our community has never been stronger. The generosity and outpouring of support from our alumni and friends will have a lasting impact on our college for generations to come,” Brown de Fuenmayor said. “But our work isn’t done. We must use this momentum to create more opportunities for our students and faculty so that they can continue improving the environments and communities in which we live, work, learn and play.”

NC State will host its annual Day of Giving fundraising event on March 23, 2022. For more information, please click here.