During his Fall Address on Friday, Chancellor Randy Woodson announced that NC State’s College of Textiles will be renamed to the Wilson College of Textiles after a $28 million endowment to the school from an NC State graduate.

The gift, donated by Frederick “Fred” Eugene Wilson Jr. and the Wilson family, fully endowed the Wilson College of Textiles and is part of the Think and Do the Extraordinary campaign. It is the largest gift made to the college in NC State history.

Fred Wilson, a 1961 NC State alumnus, graduated with a degree in textile chemistry. He is chairman of the Board of Directors for a chemical manufacturing company located in High Point, North Carolina.

Wilson’s son, Fredrick “Rick” Eugene Wilson III graduated from NC State in 1987, and his daughter Elizabeth “Cres” Wilson Calabrese graduated in 1989. Wilson’s grandson, Frederick “Rede” Wilson IV, graduated with a degree in polymer and color chemistry in 2016.

According to Chancellor Woodson, the Wilson family made the commitment to donate the gift to the university in the first week of August.

“The Wilson family had not been particularly engaged with NC State, other than athletics, and their grandson, Rede Wilson… got very engaged in the Textile Foundation Board, which is a group of leaders that support fundraising for the college,” Woodson said. “Over the last year we’ve been trying to get them, as a family, back connected [to the university].”

The Wilson College of Textiles is the second school to be named at the university, the first being the Poole College of Management.