UNC’s business school plans to increase enrollment with $11M donation for new building
UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School has received an $11 million donation — the largest one-time gift ever made to the business school by an individual, the university announced Tuesday.
The money will help pay for a new building with the intention of growing the Undergraduate Business Program by at least 50%.
Alumnus Steven Bell, a 1967 graduate, and his wife, Jackie Bell, made the gift as part of UNC’s fundraising campaign “For All Kind: the Campaign for Carolina.” The campaign aims to raise $4.25 billion by December 2022.
The new building is critical as degree programs are outgrowing the space in the McColl Building on campus, according to the university.
An aid to enrollment
UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School is consistently ranked a top-10 program in the country, but it can only accept half of the qualified undergraduate applicants each year, according to the university. This gift will help increase enrollment, alleviate space constraints and enhance the learning environment for students, including those in the MBA, Master of Accounting and PhD programs.
“There is never enough money to address all of the needs in our state, and this is even more true in the current economic downturn, but now is the time to plan for our future,” Steve Bell said in a statement. “A building expansion is needed now, not 15 to 20 years down the road.”
Bell is the CEO of Greensboro-based apartment investment and management company Bell Partners. He was honored with the UNC Kenan-Flagler Leadership Award in 2013, served on the school’s board of advisors and helped create the Steven D. Bell and Leonard W. Wood Distinguished Professorship in Real Estate. He has also provided support for the UNC business school’s Leonard W. Wood Center for Real Estate Studies, Family Enterprise Center and Rizzo Center.
Bell said this donation is his most meaningful gift yet and will help benefit the entire state in the future, with more Carolina business school graduates.
Graduates stay in North Carolina
About 70% of undergraduate students in the program stay in North Carolina or return to build careers, start companies and create thousands of jobs, according to UNC.
“This gift from Steve and Jackie Bell is an investment in our students, in our communities and in the economic growth of North Carolina,” Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said in a statement. “Their leadership, vision and generous support enables UNC Kenan-Flagler to continue fulfilling its critical mission to provide an outstanding business education to our undergraduate and graduate students.”
In addition to this gift, the project received a $1 million investment from the North Carolina General Assembly in 2017, and another UNC Kenan-Flager donor gave $10 million in private funding.
