NCSU Libraries Focus Online
Volume 25 number 3 - Spring 2005
Development Updates
By Jim Mulvey, Library Development
Armstrong Incubator Reaches Endowment Status
The Friends of the Library is pleased to announce the establishment of the
Armstrong Endowment, created by Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry Frank Armstrong
and his wife Bev. The endowment will provide support of the NCSU Libraries'
biological sciences collections in all formats.
Frank Armstrong retired as a professor of biochemistry in 1990 but remains
extremely active with the university. He devotes many hours each week as a
volunteer for the Friends of the Library Book Sale and as an adviser to students
interested in medical and health-related fields.
Any library staff member who knows Armstrong would agree that he is one of
the nicest and friendliest people around. Much of the success of the annual
Friends of the Library Book Sale can be credited to Armstrong, who for the
past ten years has sorted well over 100,000 books. He has handled some interesting
and strange materials and dealt with a lot of dust, mold, and bugs. He could
very reliably be found every Tuesday downstairs in the ground floor "cage" sorting
through boxes and boxes of old books. Both of the Armstrongs are extremely
well read on a diverse number of topics, and this has served them well in their
work with the Book Sale. Bev Armstrong worked side by side with her husband
for many years in sorting books until moving on to other volunteer activities.
As the library plans for its renovation of the ground and first floors of
the D. H. Hill Library's East Wing, storage of Book Sale material has moved
offsite to the Satellite Storage Facility. Nevertheless, Armstrong still finds
time to stop and visit his numerous friends among the library staff. He also
remains very active by serving as part of the team forming the Emeritus Advisers
Program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. This program is widely
known for its great success in working with preprofessional students interested
in pursuing careers in health-related fields. This year, he is advising close
to 100 students, many of whom will go on to graduate schools in medicine, dentistry,
or optometry.
Armstrong's love of reading and his experience as the author of a widely used
and extremely successful textbook on biochemistry led to his interest in the
NCSU Libraries. He believes that a library is the heart of a university, that
universities are often judged by their libraries, and that a topnotch library
is a powerful incentive for attracting the best faculty members. This love
of the library lead the Armstrongs to establish an Incubator Endowment in 1996
supporting the Libraries' collections. Through their thoughtful and ongoing
contributions, the fund has reached full endowment level, giving the NCSU Libraries
a permanent source of income in support of the collections in biological sciences.
A luncheon was recently held to honor the Armstrongs for their support, and
the first book purchased with income from their endowment was marked with a
specially designed bookplate.
For information on this or other library endowments, please call the library's
development officer, Jim Mulvey, at (919) 515-3339 or send an electronic-mail
message to jim_mulvey@ncsu.edu.
Woodall Endowment Created
In April 2004 the NCSU Libraries lost one its most ardent supporters with
the passing of W. Lester "Woody" Woodall. Woodall embodied a spirit
of volunteerism and philanthropy through his support of the Libraries and his
years of service in the Raleigh Rotary Club.
After Woodall's death, the Libraries received a generous gift he had planned
years before by designating the NCSU Libraries as the beneficiary of an insurance
annuity. With this gift, the new W. Lester Woodall Library Excellence
Endowment was created. This permanent fund in the NCSU Foundation
will provide unrestricted support for the Libraries to use in its ongoing pursuit
of excellence in all areas.
After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, Woodall graduated
from NC State in 1947 with a B.S. in mechanical engineering. Although he was
not a professor, he became an authority on the use of steam and taught many
classes on the subject at NC State. He spent thirty years as a manufacturer's
representative and Raleigh office manager for Hoffman and Hoffman, a heating
and air-conditioning equipment business.
In 1997 his class designated its golden anniversary gift to the Libraries,
which inspired Woodall to consider how he might make a significant contribution
of his own. In return for his generosity, the university welcomed Woodall as
a member of the R. Stanhope Pullen Society, which comprises NC State supporters
who have made a planned or deferred gift to benefit any area of the university.
His work and charitable interests underscore why he and others of his generation
have come to be known as the "Greatest Generation."
He was a long-time member of the Raleigh Rotary Club and served as its president
from 1969 to 1970. He also recruited former NC State Chancellor Marye Anne
Fox to join the Rotary Club. His son Stephen credits his father's lifetime
commitment to giving and volunteering to an experience he had as a student
at NC State in the 1940s. He organized a successful student fundraising campaign
to have chimes placed in the Bell Tower. Stephen Woodall believes the success
of this project led to his fatherÕs philanthropic spirit and interest
in "giving back."
Memorial contributions may be made to the W. Lester Woodall Library Excellence
Endowment and sent to the Friends of the Library, Campus Box 7111, Raleigh,
N.C. 27695. For information on this or other library endowments, call Jim Mulvey
at (919) 515-3339 or send an electronic-mail message to jim_mulvey@ncsu.edu.
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