three generations of graduates<\/a>\u00a0from the college.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt is the largest gift ever made to the college in its 119-year history and makes the Wilson College of Textiles only the second named college at NC State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the celebration starts to wind down and planning begins in earnest, the atmosphere in the Wilson College of Textiles can best be described as electric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s just a fantastic opportunity for us to invest in our students, to invest in our faculty, to invest in our staff, and do so much more than we could do before,\u201d says Associate Professor Kristin Thoney-Barletta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read on for more reactions from some of the college\u2019s students, faculty and staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHeather Freeman Junior, textile engineering <\/strong>\u201cWatching the gift announcement and getting to be a part of it was really cool, especially seeing the alumni come back and the way that the Wilson family interacted with current and past students. I think it was perfectly summed up by Dean Hinks\u2019 face the whole time. He was just giddy.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nMichelle Kerstein Junior, fashion and textile management <\/strong>\u201cThis gift means opportunity, in my opinion. I\u2019m very involved in the college and have been able to take advantage of all sorts of opportunities, like undergraduate research and the sustainability committee. Being a part of these things has been so important. I think this gift opens up these opportunities for more students and creates awesome growth. The event was so joyful. Getting to see the community come together to celebrate was really neat.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nMichelle McGoogan Senior, textile engineering <\/strong>\u201cIt\u2019s really exciting that the family realizes what our students can offer and that they\u2019re willing to invest in us. This amazing gift is definitely going to help not only the college, but also the textile industry.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nBryan Ormond Assistant professor Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science <\/strong>\u201cI\u2019ve been here for 15 years as an undergrad, a grad student and a post-doc, and I\u2019ve seen just about everything the college is and has to offer over that time. To me, this gift is about keeping the college going. Making it not just a college of textiles, but the<\/em> college of textiles. It means so much to this state and what we do specifically, like the work that I do to protect firefighters, first responders and the military. To me, this is home. It really is a family. This gift keeps us strong, keeps us the tight-knit community that we are.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nLatasia Priest Assistant director of annual giving and prospect development North Carolina Textile Foundation <\/strong>\u201cI got to spend all of Friday with the Wilson family, and I was able to see how they are such a close-knit family, and I believe they consider the college to be part of their family. As a newer staff member, it was an amazing experience for me to see everything come together and everyone having a great time. And that\u2019s just the beginning of the impact of this gift. My favorite part of the day was Cres Wilson Calabrese\u2019s speech. She said something along the lines of, \u2018I hope this gift will be a spark to an eternal flame of support for the Wilson College of Textiles,\u2019 and that really resonated with me.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nKristin Thoney-Barletta Associate professor and director of undergraduate programs Department of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management <\/strong>\u201cI am very grateful to the Wilson family. It was very nice to hear from Mr. Wilson and some members of his family about their relationship with the college and what led them to give such a wonderful gift. I believe this gift will create more potential for undergraduate student scholarships as well as investment in graduate student research and teaching assistantships. It will help us to enhance some of the programs that we already have in place and to give faculty and staff additional opportunities for professional development. I think those are going to be realistic outcomes of this gift and will improve the college tremendously.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nMichael Ward Senior director of development North Carolina Textile Foundation <\/strong>\u201cFor me this gift means the survivability of the Wilson College of Textiles. As a native of North Carolina, it means to me a resurgent textile industry, having access to textile education, being able to create workforce development, being able to infuse the college with the resources that will enable the innovation and automation that are going to be needed as textiles evolves. The reality of a gift of this magnitude and impact is incredible. Seeing the students swarming Fred [Wilson], wanting autographs on the new hats, and just seeing their appreciation and understanding of the impact of the philanthropy, that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThis post was originally published<\/a> in NC State News.<\/em><\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ask students, faculty and staff of the newly-named Wilson College of Textiles what the Wilson family\u2019s commitment means to them, and a common thread emerges: This is a tight-knit community \u2013 a family \u2013 made even stronger by this landmark gift.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":25024,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"caption\":\"\",\"displayCategoryID\":2131}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[489,490],"tags":[1429,1382],"class_list":["post-12754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-giving-back","category-our-people","tag-philanthropy","tag-wilson-college-of-textiles"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"
Reflections and Reactions: Wilson College of Textiles Makes 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