Piedmont Chemical Industries<\/a>. Fred serves as chairman of the board for the firm founded in 1938 by his father, the late Frederick Eugene Wilson Sr.<\/span><\/p>\nThe Wilsons said the gift, the college\u2019s largest ever, honors NC State\u2019s positive impact on their family and their business\u2019 success, and underscores their confidence in a renewed U.S. textile industry. They want to support and ensure the college\u2019s ongoing importance as a leader and an economic driver.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWhen we were talking to the chancellor about the college and about it being the only college of textiles remaining in the U.S., a light bulb really went off,\u201d Fred Wilson said. \u201cSomebody\u2019s got to draw a line in the sand. We\u2019ve got to remember what got us here and recognize where we can go in the future. I\u2019m happy that we could be the ones to do that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nLeadership for North Carolina<\/b><\/h3>\n NC State\u2019s first textiles professor was hired in 1899, not long after the university opened to students. As the program developed by 1925 into the School of Textiles, based in Tompkins Hall, it rapidly developed a reputation as an expert in textiles teaching, research and service. The school became the College of Textiles in 1987, and shifted from its longtime headquarters in Nelson Hall to Centennial Campus four years later.<\/span><\/p>\nThrough the rise of synthetic fibers, globalization and automation, the college has adapted and evolved. Today, it advances a commitment to environmental stewardship and economic sustainability, and its interdisciplinary research teams address textiles challenges and applications that range from protecting first responders and members of the armed services, to filtering the air people breathe and the water they drink.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThe current strength of the college exists because of the hard work and creativity of talented leaders, faculty and staff members, students and passionate alumni over many decades. It is also due to the impact of the North Carolina Textile Foundation, which, since 1942, has pursued the singular mission of supporting the college,\u201d said David Hinks, dean of the Wilson College of Textiles.<\/span><\/p>\nThe Wilsons\u2019 gift illustrates one of the college\u2019s core values, connectedness, Hinks said, and ensures that the college will continue to develop talent, build vital partnerships and attract jobs to the state. <\/span><\/p>\n\u201cEveryone in the college will forever be grateful to the extraordinary Wilson family for their generosity and passion for supporting NC State University,\u201d Hinks said.<\/span><\/p>\nDeep Connections in Textiles<\/b><\/h3>\n Similar to the college, the Wilson family enjoys deep roots in North Carolina, as well as an outlook focused on staying ahead of the curve and connecting with people.<\/span><\/p>\n[caption id=\"attachment_23478\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"] Fred Wilson Jr. discusses the newly named Wilson College of Textiles.[\/caption]\nFred Wilson Sr. started Piedmont Chemical Industries to support the local textile industry. It\u2019s now a global firm with five production sites in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, additional manufacturing partners serving the Caribbean, Central America and Asia, and a diversified portfolio of products. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nFred Sr. began working part-time in a hosiery mill at a young age, like many of his neighbors and family members. Without the opportunity to attend college, he started teaching himself about textile chemicals at night. He absorbed knowledge from everyone he could.<\/p>\n
At one po<\/span>int, Fred Sr. attended an educational program at the then-School of Textiles. The experience made a tremendous difference, particularly because he maintained a correspondence with one of the instructors.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWhen Dad had a question, this man on the faculty there would respond and help him. So there had been this connection with State College that was important when my father was starting out,\u201d Fred Wilson Jr. said. \u201cHe used to say that he started with a tin shack, a barrel and a boat paddle. In the evenings he would mix dyes, and then he would go out and sell to mills during the day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nFollowing a successful stint as a salesman with a Brooklyn, New York, company, the senior Wilson decided that his family and friends could do textile dyes better. He opened first in Thomasville with a staff that featured his sister keeping the books; Piedmont Chemical has remained a family business that also currently includes William Davis, Cres Wilson Calabrese\u2019s son and a College of Charleston graduate.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cMy dad worked hard and he did OK,\u201d Fred Wilson said. \u201cHe was very much a product of the 1920s and 1930s. His philosophy was never to go home on Friday owing anyone money. When I started at the company, after I graduated from State, at first I would have to convince him that we needed to invest a little money in this or that kind of equipment in order to really move forward. We\u2019ve tried to be successful with honesty and with flexibility.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nOver time, Piedmont Chemical expanded strategically with a strong foundation that served it well, Fred Wilson said. \u201cThe knowledge that started years ago in the hosiery mills translates to so many other products, so many things downstream, and the technology continues to advance. When you ask some of those same questions about chemistry that we\u2019ve always asked, they can take you in really different directions today in textiles and other areas like agriculture, too,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\nNC State\u2019s Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign continues to gain momentum and help the university unleash its potential, said Brian Sischo, vice chancellor for university advancement.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cDonors are responding to our ambitious $1.6 billion goal with support for scholarships, endowed faculty positions, new facilities and so much more,\u201d Sischo said. \u201cThis naming gift is a game-changer for the College of Textiles. We thank the Wilsons for their commitment and for setting such an extraordinary example of philanthropy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An extraordinary gift from Fred Wilson Jr. (’61), of High Point, and the Wilson family celebrates three generations of Textiles alumni and makes Wilson College of Textiles the second named college at NC State.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":25028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"ncstate_wire","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"caption\":\"\",\"displayCategoryID\":2149}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[489,490],"tags":[1383,1382],"class_list":["post-12694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-giving-back","category-our-people","tag-piedmont-chemical","tag-wilson-college-of-textiles"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"
Wilson College of Textiles Honors an Extraordinary Gift and an Extraordinary History - Wilson College of Textiles<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n