Sept. 5, 2007

Presbyterian College celebrated a major milestone Tuesday, Sept. 4, at a luncheon held in honor of the many talented and generous people who helped the college raise more than $100 million in the Promise and the Challenge campaign.

The $100 Million Luncheon also was a cause for honoring a select group of benefactors to the college, as four were named Presbyterian College laureates and presented with the Great Seal of the College, PC's highest honor.

PC Medallions were presented to Dorothy Fuqua, a major contributor to the college's music program; E.G. and Marianne Lassiter, who have given $4 million to the Promise and the Challenge campaign; and Bob Staton, the former chair of the campaign and the college's current executive vice president for external relations.

A member of the PC board of trustees from 1968-71, Fuqua established her first scholarship fund in the mid-1990s. Her $2 million gift to support the growth and development of the department of music, though, will be her most lasting legacy.

Dr. Porter Stokes, the chair of the music department, called Fuqua's gift a "hurricane” – “one of those perfect storms” that forever altered the landscape of the college music program.

Fuqua earned an honorary doctor of music degree from PC in 2000. She was named the William Plumer Jacobs Society Distinguished Member in 2002.

"This day has been an inspiration to me," she said, adding that she and her late husband, Atlanta entrepreneur and philanthropist J.B. Fuqua, believed that people who give away everything before they die "are the richest men in the world."

E.G. Lassiter, a 1969 graduate of PC , and his wife Marianne, who also attended PC, donated $2.5 million towards Phase I construction of a new $12 million addition to and renovation of the college’s Richardson Science Hall. The couple also donated $1.5 million to benefit the college's visual arts programs. Lassiter also is a member of the college board of trustees.

Both of their children – Dr. Rich Lassiter, a 1998 graduate, and Anne Marie Johnson, who graduated in 1999 – are also PC alumni.

Accepting the award on behalf of his family, E.G. Lassiter added his own thanks to many others who have made contributed to the college with gifts large and small.

Staton, who served as a trustee from 1997-2006, is a 1968 graduate of PC. The retired chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Colonial Life Insurance in Columbia, S.C., he served as chair of the Promise and the Challenge campaign from 2002-06 before assuming in his new role as the college’s executive vice president for external relations.

He and his wife, Mary, also sent their two sons – Rob, a 1997 graduate, and Jason, who graduated in 1999 – to PC.

Staton, too, had others in mind as he accepted the honor – wife, Mary, "my real hero and inspiration" and everyone who has contributed to the success of the first phase of the Promise and the Challenge campaign.

"I don't deserve to be standing here," he said. "This is because of you and I accept this on your behalf."

The college also announced three new giving societies at the $100 Million Luncheon. The Society of 1880 recognizes members of the William Plumer Jacobs Society who have made total lifetime gifts of $1 million or more. The Bell Tower Society, named after the oldest structure on campus, recognizes members who have made total lifetime gifts between $500,000 and $999,000. The President's Society recognizes members who have made total lifetime gifts between $250,000 and $499,999.

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