November 2, 2022

A new donor wall in Columbus State University’s LeNoir Hall pays tribute to the generosity of those donors who have contributed to the ongoing excellence of the College of Letters and Sciences.

The new Main Campus landmark, dedicated on Thursday, Oct. 27, is located in the LeNoir Hall Atrium and specifically honors individuals, companies and foundations whose endowments support named faculty chairs, scholarships and programs.

“Our students, faculty and staff are immensely grateful for the generous gifts from our donors, ensuring that the highest quality of education will be available for future generations,” said Dr. Annice Yarber-Allen, dean of the College of Letters and Sciences. “Thanks to our donors’ support, our students have been accepted into prestigious summer undergraduate

research programs, received top honors for their academic excellence, presented at regional and local professional conferences, won literary awards and created an exhibition at the Columbus Museum.”

The College of Letters and Sciences is the academic heart of CSU, offering most of the university’s general education core courses. In addition, through its 10 distinctive academic departments, the college offers undergraduate programs in the sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences; and master's degrees in history, natural sciences, public administration, and public safety administration. Students completing degrees in these programs pursue careers in such diverse fields as law, education, food science, medicine, scientific research, and criminal justice.

The college's faculty, staff and students form a community of active scholars dedicated to engaged learning, respectful collaboration and academic excellence within and across its disciplines. The college provides an inclusive environment in which students from across the university gain essential skills in the core curriculum to tackle real-world challenges, and empowers all students to become engaged life-long learners, creative problem solvers and productive citizens in local and global communities.

Endowments support a wide variety of initiatives at Columbus State University: scholarships, fellowships, research studies, professorships, academic chairs, lecture series, library acquisitions, scientific and technical equipment purchases, capital improvements and more. Gifted endowed funds are invested and only the income from the investment is used to support its purpose. This preserves the donor’s original gift in perpetuity, guaranteeing they will have an impact on the university for generations to come.

Endowments can be established in the donor’s name, the name of a business, or in honor of someone important to the donor. Donors can also specify how they would like the income from the endowment to be used. 

Donors wishing to contribute to one of these endowments or create new scholarship endowments can discuss options with members of CSU’s Office of University Advancement. To learn more about endowments, visit columbusstate.edu/university-advancement/endowments.php.

The donor wall inaugural honorees include the following endowed gifts:

• Alfonso Biggs Scholarship Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from the estate of Alfonso Biggs
• Carlton M. and Constance Johnson Scholarship Fund: named in recognition of a generous gift from the estate of Constance Johnson
• Carson McCullers Center Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from Thornton F. Jordan
• Col. Richard R. Hallock Distinguished University Chair in Military History: named in recognition of a generous gift from Mrs. Richard R. Hallock
• Columbus Water Works Environmental Sciences Scholarship Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from the Board of the Columbus Water Works
• Donald L. Jordan Endowment for Traditional American Writing: named in recognition of a generous gift from Donald L. Jordan
• Dr. Ashish K. Jain Pre-Med Scholarship Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from Mrs. T. Sam Rawls
• Dr. Mary E. Mercer Memorial Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from the estate of Mary Elizabeth Mercer, M.D.
• Eula Mae Runnels Scholarship Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from the estate of Eula Mae Runnels
• Flora M. Clark Fund for Improving Biology: named in recognition of a generous gift from the Department of Biology in honor of Flora M. Clark upon her retirement
• Florence F. Lynn/Lynn Haven Nature Center Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from the estate of Florence F. Lynn
• George E. Stanton Endowment for Biology: named in recognition of a generous gift from the Department of Biology in honor of George E. Stanton upon his retirement
• Georgia Power Foundation Scholarship Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from Georgia Power Foundation
• Gerald B. and Charlotte A. Saunders Competitive Pre-Med Scholarship Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from the Family of Gerald B. and Charlotte A. Saunders
• Hart Family Scholarship Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from E. David Hart Jr.
• James and Mary Loudermilk Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from James F. and Mary Loudermilk
• James Madison Rutledge III Scholarship Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from the estate of Francis W. Rutledge
• Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellowship Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from Mary Elizabeth Mercer, M.D. 
• Mario R. Mion Political Science Honors Scholarship Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from the Department of Political Science
• Muscogee County Medical Society Scholarship Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from the Muscogee County Physicians Foundation Endowment Fund
• Prem and Neelam Virmani Scholarship Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from Prem and Neelam Virmani
• Susan M. Cochran Memorial Endowment for Faulkner Studies: named in recognition of a generous gift from Thomas A. Cochran Jr.
• William C. and Jane LeNoir Endowment for Life Sciences: named in recognition of a generous gift from the LeNoir Family
• Yarber-Allen Scholarship Endowment: named in recognition of a generous gift from Annice Yarber-Allen and Jamese Dale Yarber