Providing a major boost to the current Capital Campaign for Winston-Salem State University (WSSU), the R.J. Reynolds Foundation will contribute $1.25 million to endow a professorship and a new scholarship fund.
“These major grants by the R.J. Reynolds Foundation, which is supported by Reynolds American Inc. and its major subsidiary, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, reflect a relationship between business and higher education that continues to benefit the entire community,” said Steve Strawsburg, president of the Foundation. “We are very proud to establish this endowment with WSSU.”
Susan Ivey, Reynolds American Inc. CEO and president said, “These endowments continue to demonstrate our commitment to Winston-Salem State and acknowledge the valuable contribution the university makes to our region. Our contribution and the success of the university’s capital campaign will help ensure that Winston-Salem State continues to be a cornerstone of higher learning in our community and the state,” she said.
WSSU Chancellor Harold L. Martin, Sr. said, “For more than a century, WSSU has counted R.J. Reynolds as a good friend and as a partner. This Foundation’s gift is generous not only in its size, but also in its timeliness. Gifts such as this, early in the campaign, demonstrate confidence, and we are very grateful.
“This gift will go a long way toward enabling the university to attract and retain exceptional faculty, as well as to prepare students for lives of personal and professional success. The grant helps us respond directly to the needs of the city, state and region,” Martin said.
Because WSSU is designated as a “Focused Growth Institution” by the University of North Carolina system, the R.J. Reynolds Foundation funds for the endowed professorship are eligible to be matched by the system’s Board of Governors’ Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund.
WSSU also said the scholarship fund endowed by R.J. Reynolds will be used to attract top high school graduates by paying full tuition, fees, books, room and board.