Park Foundation co-founder and President Emeritus Dorothy Dent Park died June 20 at the age of 103.
After her husband, Roy, an NC State alumnus, died in 1993, Park decided to use funds from the foundation in their name to support a prestigious scholarship program at his alma mater.
The Park Scholarship Program has funded over 1,000 undergraduate students at NC State and has raised funds of nearly $140 million. Part of these funds were used to build the Dorothy and Roy Park Alumni Center, which is the home of the NC State Alumni Association.
“The legacy Dorothy and Roy Park leave at NC State is one that will stand as a lasting testament to their commitment to service and to their home state of North Carolina,” said Park Scholarships Director Eva Feucht, according to NC State News. “Mrs. Park’s leadership of the Park Foundation has forever changed the lives of both the Park Scholars and those whose lives are improved through their efforts. She stands as an example for all of us.”
Park and her husband founded the Park Foundation, an organization that funds various academic institutions. After Park’s husband died, Park created the Park Scholarship Program at NC State in 1996, providing four years of tuition to gifted undergraduate students at the university.
The Park Foundation also established the same type of scholarship program for UNC-Chapel Hill graduate students in the School of Media and Journalism. Along with UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State, the foundation also held similar programs at Ithaca College and Cornell University.
Park did not attend NC State, but she attended both Meredith and Peace College and was a Raleigh native.
Park and her husband felt that attending a university was just the beginning of a person’s involvement with a university, according to NC State News. Despite being from Raleigh, Park also wanted to help provide scholarships at schools with ties to her husband’s education, according to NC State News.
Park Scholars are not only held to high academic standards but are also noted for their community involvement, including Service Raleigh and the Krispy Kreme Challenge.
