‘We are so grateful’: WCU’s historic $10M gift from local couple will go to 3 programs
By Rex Hodge
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CULLOWHEE, North Carolina (WLOS) — A Western North Carolina couple has made an unprecedented contribution of over $10 million to Western Carolina University (WCU).
The large gift to WCU will go to three areas: global engagement, art and design, and an honors college endowment.
“All three of those areas will benefit from this transformational legacy gift to WCU,” said WCU Chancellor Kelli Brown.
Brown said the generosity of David Moore and Darren Whatley of Highlands is unmatched. She said their gift is WCU’s largest planned gift in the university’s history.
“They see the value in Western [Carolina University], and they recognize that we will be good stewards of their dollars,” Brown said.
Of the $10 million, 40% goes to the Office of Global Engagement.
“It looks like it will be four million dollars,” said Wes Milner, director of the Office of Global Engagement. “It’s all about bringing people here, creating new businesses, creating opportunities for the entire state.”
The money, Milner says, will make a big difference.
“For many of our students, even having that thousand dollars to help defray the cost of a plane, a visa, to get them some additional training, it really is transformational,” Milner added.
Another 40% of the gifted money goes to WCU’s School of Art and Design.
“There is a commitment to the arts here. It’s an art-rich region,” said director Ron Laboray. “Everything that is in your life, that you’re wearing, that’s in your house, around you, that you’re sitting on, has been drawn. When you start to think about that kind of funding, you can dream big.”
Both David Moore and Darren Whatley are from the Gulf Coast. Moore is a retired corporate banker, while Whatley leads a local interior design firm. Neither went to WCU, but both believe in public universities and have lived in Western North Carolina for a quarter century and have been very involved with the university.
“They’ve been involved with our honors college, our Brinson Honors College. They’ve been involved with some of our arts that we’re doing here. Darren [Whatley] actually had some of our art intern design students actually do internships with him,” said Brown. “They see the value of what WCU does, and we are so grateful to them.”
Brown said she expects this gift to pay dividends for years.
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