David L. Helmer, Senior Vice President and Regional Corporate Banking Manager for BB&T, presented the latest check of $100,000 to Dr. Ron Area, CEO of the MU Foundation Inc., and Dr. Deanna Mader, director of the BB&T Center for the Advancement of American Capitalism, during a brief ceremony in the Brad D. Smith Foundation Hall, Home of the Erickson Alumni Center.
This gift brings to $900,000 the total amount given by BB&T since an entrepreneurial program called the BB&T Center for the Advancement of American Capitalism was established in 2008.
The BB&T Center sponsors a lecture series and an upper-division course in capitalism for business students, among other activities.
“We are very appreciative of the continued support from the BB&T Foundation and their investment in this center,” Area said. “We are very proud to have the BB&T Center on our campus and we look forward to its continued success.
Area said the major emphasis of the center is for the promotion of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education.
Mader said the BB&T Foundation makes it possible for the university to grow and prosper.
“The BB&T Center plays a vital role in the economic advancement of the region providing educational opportunities for our students and serving as a conduit between the university and the business community,” Mader said. “We are exceedingly grateful for the generous financial support received from the BB&T Foundation, without which these specific activities would not be possible.”
To learn how you can contribute to student success through the BB&T Center for the Advancement of American Capitalism, contact Area at area@marshall.edu or call 304-696-2826.
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Photo: David L. Helmer, Regional Corporate Banking Manager for BB&T, third from left, presents a check for $100,000 to Dr. Deanna Mader, director of the BB&T Center for the Advancement of American Capitalism, far right; and Dr. Ron Area, CEO of the Marshall Foundation Inc., right of Helmer. Also pictured are Dr. Jerome Gilbert, president of Marshall University, to Helmer’s left; Bob Simpson, interim dean of the Lewis College of Business, far left; and Spencer Murphy, Huntington Market President for BB&T, to Mader’s left. The presentation took place today in the Brad D. Smith Foundation Hall, home of the Erickson Alumni Center, on MU’s Huntington campus.
Photo by Marshall University.