UNCW Alumni Give $2 Million to Support New Student Center
5/17/2006 11:32:53 AM
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Wilmington, N.C. - The University of North Carolina Wilmington has named the new student center in honor of alumni Herbert and Sylvia Fisher, whose ties to their alma mater extend back more than 50 years to the early days of Wilmington College.
The Fishers, lifelong Wilmington residents, have established a $2 million endowed fund to maintain the student center and enhance its programs. Their contribution to name the Herbert and Sylvia Fisher Student Center is the largest outright gift from individual donors in UNCW history.
"We are honored to help the students at UNCW," said Herb Fisher, founder of Coastal Realty. "The Wilmington community has been very good to us, and this is a way we can return some of those good deeds."
Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo said, "With their historic gift, Herb and Sylvia Fisher have truly found a way to make a difference for each student at UNCW. The Fisher Student Center will serve as a symbol of their loyalty to their alma mater, their love for the Wilmington community, and their sincere commitment to helping UNCW provide all students with the most powerful learning experience possible."
About the Fishers
Herb, Class of 1953, and Sylvia, Class of 1950, attended Wilmington College when classes were held in the Isaac Bear Building on Market Street. Sylvia Fisher was the college's first Homecoming Queen. In 1950, Herb Fisher opened the Varsity, a pharmacy, grill and soda shop, a block away from the college. It quickly became the place "where young folks meet and eat," Fisher recalled.
"When I ran the Varsity, the students at that time did not have a student union," he said. "They would fill the Varsity up completely, even standing shoulder to shoulder, because they wanted to be with their friends."
The Varsity served as the unofficial student center until the 1960s when the college moved to its present location on College Road. Fisher maintained the shop until 1973, when he closed the Varsity to concentrate on managing Coastal Realty. Although he no longer saw the students on a daily basis, Fisher maintained an interest in UNCW. His son Carlton, also with Coastal Realty, is a member of the Class of 1983. Carlton volunteers on the UNCW Foundation Board, a nonprofit organization formed to assist the university with fundraising.
Several years ago, the Fishers established a scholarship for undergraduate students enrolled in the Watson School of Education. Herb Fisher has included a provision in his will for a $250,000 contribution to the scholarship, and he gave $200,000 to refurbish the field house at Brooks Field, the baseball stadium. It will be called the Herbert Fisher Field House.
"Herb and Sylvia Fisher have meant so much to UNCW for so many years," said Vice Chancellor Mary M. Gornto, Division for University Advancement. "It is a tremendous privilege for this university to name our student center for them."
About the Fisher Student Center
Construction on the Herbert and Sylvia Fisher Student Center is nearing completion. The building will open in June; an official grand opening celebration is scheduled for 3 p.m., Aug. 24, a day after fall semester classes begin. The 70,536-square-foot building includes offices, storage and work areas to accommodate more than 160 student organizations, larger spaces for the UNCW Bookstore and Sharky's Game Room, a new café named the Varsity, a dramatic water feature sponsored by the Class of 2006 and a 350-seat movie theatre.
"It's a very beautiful, very impressive building. It is very well-planned. It will have good light with all of the windows and a nice patio where the students can be outside and still be under a roof," Herb Fisher said. "This is a place where the students can all meet to eat, and lounge, and play games in the game room and visit with their friends. It is important to have a student center."
So important, in fact, that UNCW students agreed in 2001 to increase their own student fees to raise funds to construct the student center and renovate two other buildings that currently house student services, organizations, the bookstore, dining areas, etc. The renovation projects will get underway once the student center opens.
"The students who supported the plan knew they would graduate before the student center opened but, true to the community spirit our students have always shown - and the Fishers are superb examples of this quality - they made a commitment to benefit future students," said Vice Chancellor Pat Leonard, Division for Student Affairs. "When students enroll at UNCW, they quickly discover that the university's institutional philosophy puts them at the center of our mission. The design and location of the Fisher Student Center, which is in the center of campus, reflects that philosophy."
Kate Hill, Class of 2006, said, "This gift means so much to all of the students at UNCW. The Fisher Student Center will be our home away from home."
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Media contacts:
Carolyn Farley, University Union director, at 910/962-7433, for additional information about the Fisher Student Center, student programs, etc.
Andrea Weaver, marketing and communications manager for University Advancement, at 910/962-7631 for other requests.
Downloadable Photos
The Fishers
Herbert Fisher
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