NC State University will receive a gift that will help expand its scholarships for military-connected students at its College of Engineering.
Pat and Jerry Collier
The gift – from Jerry and Pat Collier – will be the largest commitment to support the military community and the largest gift from an alum of the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering to date.
Jerry – a civil engineering major – established a successful building company. He served in the U.S. Navy for four years, earning the Bronze Star for service in combat in Vietnam with the Navy Seabees. Pat Collier – who grew up in a Navy family – worked as an educator for several years before becoming a school social worker.
The endowment will be funded by a bequest and, when fully realized, will provide scholarship support for up to 100 undergraduate and graduate students each year.
“Student success is at the heart of everything we do,” said Dr. Doneka Scott, vice chancellor and dean of the Division of Academic and Student Affairs. “Every student takes a different path to NC State, and this is especially true of our military-affiliated students, whether they come to us after serving in combat or as the dependents of servicemembers. We are all deeply grateful to Jerry and Pat Collier for their incredibly generous support, which will not only ease financial burden, but also demonstrate how invested NC State is in our military-affiliated students’ experiences and success.”
The Colliers have an ongoing relationship with NC State, having done philanthropy and funded scholarships for the school.
“It is our hope that our gifts to NC State will be our legacy,” Jerry said. “It gives us great pleasure that many students will enhance their lives with these scholarships. We are particularly proud to support those involved with the military, whether as an active member, a veteran or a child of either.
“Military families endure long separations and experience frequent moves. Those who are willing to preserve America’s freedom deserve special treatment. We hope our message to military families is that NC State values them as well.”
