By Sean Olson, University Relations
Joseph M. Bryan.
The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation has made a $1 million gift to the Bryan School of Business and Economics at UNCG.
The Bryan School will use the gift to support the Bryan Scholars and Fellows Program, which funds undergraduate and graduate educations for some of the school’s most promising students. The Bryan Scholarships and Fellowships are the most prestigious awards in the school, and there are currently 23 such scholars and 11 fellows.
The gift has been made as part of The Students First Campaign, UNCG’s $78.2 million capital fund drive that is under way. So far, $48.2 million has been raised toward that goal. Click here for more information on the campaign.
“Obviously, Mr. Bryan thought a great deal of the business school,” said Jim Melvin, president of the Bryan Foundation. “It was the largest gift in his will. In light of the capital campaign at the university, the foundation thought it would be a good time to support the Bryan Scholars and Fellows, of whom I think Mr. Bryan would be very proud.”
“Mr. Bryan had a deep interest in the students chosen as scholars and fellows, and for good reason. His support got many started with a solid education, who have since gone on and become successful leaders in the Triad and beyond,” said Dr. James Weeks, dean of the Bryan School. “The foundation’s contribution will significantly enhance our recruitment abilities, which is especially important for our two new doctoral programs.”
The pledge will be paid out in increments of $200,000 every year for five years, beginning in January 2007, and will help recruit and educate some of the brightest business students. These students, in turn, are likely to stay in the area and contribute to the strength of the community.
“We see the business school at UNCG as being an asset to the business community and, really, to the community as a whole,” Melvin said. “It has been and becomes more so every year.”
Counting gifts from either Bryan, his estate or the foundation that bears his name, Bryan has given the business school some $8 million dollars, including:
• A $1 million gift in 1984 to establish the Kathleen Price and Joseph M. Bryan Scholars and Fellows Program
• A $1 million gift in 1989 to establish the Joseph M. Bryan Distinguished Professorship
• A $5 million gift in 1995, a bequest to the school in the form of an unrestricted endowment.
In addition to these gifts, Bryan supported the university through various scholarships and other contributions. His will directed that his Greensboro home become the UNCG Chancellor’s residence. His archives are kept by the University Archives through his financial support.
In 1987, the UNCG Board of Trustees voted to name the School of Business and Economics in his honor and in recognition of his leadership and support to the school and the community.
A native of New York, Bryan came to Greensboro in 1931 and spent decades as a successful businessman, serving as senior vice president of Jefferson Standard Broadcasting Co. and as chairman of the board of Pilot Life Insurance Co. In addition to his business career, Bryan worked to develop the Greensboro community through his leadership and philanthropy. The Bryan Foundation is a charitable organization established after his death to carry on his work in the community.
