NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 26 number 3 - Spring 2006

Honorary Gifts Continue To Make a Difference for Textiles

By Anna Dahlstein, External Relations

Like the college it serves, the Burlington Textiles Library is the largest and finest university-based facility of its kind in the world. Much of that excellence comes from the creativity and generosity of members of the textile community who, in at least two instances, have chosen to honor prominent educators by contributing to library endowments in their names.

When Bob Barnhardt stepped aside as dean in 1999, students in the College of Textiles joined forces with board members of the North Carolina Textile Foundation to establish the Robert A. Barnhardt Endowment for Leadership Development in the Burlington Textiles Library, which funds the acquisition of multimedia collections and tools to support leadership-related programming. Burlington Industries and many other individual and corporate donors welcomed the opportunity to honor Barnhardt, who guided the college’s move to Centennial Campus in 1990-1991, saw enrollment grow by 33 percent during his tenure as dean, played an instrumental role in the formation of the National Textile Center and the Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center, and helped bring the Institute of Textile Technology to NC State. The university later recognized his leadership by naming him interim provost in 2003 and interim chancellor the following year.

One of the College of Textiles' most-beloved educators from the 1970s through the 1990s was Charles D. Livengood, whom students twice selected for the Alumni Distinguished Professor Award, NC State’s highest distinction for teaching. Livengood declined any retirement gifts when he left his post as associate dean for academic programs in 2001. Instead, he and his wife Mary initiated the Charles D. and Mary B. Livengood Teaching and Learning Endowment in the library to provide critical pedagogical materials for new instructors and students adjusting to the rigors of college-level academic work.

A former "mill-town kid" and scholarship recipient, Livengood identified with struggling students from rural counties. "Professors helped to the extent they could, but some students didn't know how to study, didn't know how to ask questions, and didn't know how to get organized," said Livengood. "The Libraries [provided] friendly and accessible help." Livengood invited former students and Class of 1958 classmates to contribute to the endowment, and many responded. Honora Nerz, head of the Burlington Textiles Library, provided this progress report on the impact of the two endowments.

"Thanks to the Barnhardt and Livengood endowments, we have been able to expand our collections related to leadership development and instruction significantly. Also, we have furnished and equipped a conference room in the library that has hosted teaching and learning activities, including information literacy instruction retreats and peer tutoring, as well as programs fostering leadership, such as project management training, student presentation practice, and a statewide Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers event."