With the passing of its former President Dr. Kenneth B. Orr, Presbyterian College announces the establishment of the President Emeritus, Dr. Kenneth B. Orr Memorial Endowment: Faculty Research Fellowship. The endowment is initially funded through a gift from Orr’s surviving wife Dr. Ruth Douglas Currie. Currie would like for this also to be a vehicle for those interested in making memorial gifts to the college on his behalf.

The endowment, designed to honor Orr, who served as president of the college for 18 years, will be used to provide a faculty award to support a summer faculty research fellowship at the college he loved.

According to Dr. Don Raber, provost, “These fellowships will provide faculty new opportunities to engage in scholarly activity that will enhance their professional development and expertise in different disciplines. I am grateful to Dr. Currie for her generosity and support of PC and its faculty, and I look forward to working with her in developing the guidelines for using this endowment to continue the significant contributions Dr. Orr has made to the academic life of this campus.”

“My husband shared with me many memories of his 18 years as president of Presbyterian College,” said Currie. “My favorites include his installing the underground irrigation that guaranteed the verdant beauty of the front campus entrance—and the Bartlett pear trees that grace the drive of the back campus paid for in the early years by a donation from his own mother.”

Orr made a significant, positive impact on the growth of the College. When he came to PC, the college was in the final stages of a Centennial campaign with a goal of raising $10 million and was $3.5 million shy of reaching the goal. The deadline for the campaign was 18 months away—at the conclusion, $11.5 million had been raised, which included the establishment of the prestigious Quattlebaum Scholarships endowed by a generous gift from Alexander McQueen Quattlebaum. Over the course of his tenure, the PC endowment grew from $7 million to $52 million.

“He was proud of the college and worked tirelessly to achieve its excellence in higher education,” Currie added. “To honor his legacy, it seemed a faculty research fellowship would underline his goal of academic excellence. He loved ‘his college’ and devoted his career to the goal that PC graduates would embrace the motto ‘while we live, we serve.’”

Presbyterian College is located on a striking 240-acre campus in Clinton, between Columbia and Greenville, S.C. Offering challenging academics and a culture of honor, ethics, and service that prepares students to be leaders in communities, PC offers its students the benefit of engaging with an exceptional faculty who take individual interest in their students’ well-being, both personally and in the classroom. The Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy opened in 2010, and is dedicated to the ideals of leadership, honor to the profession, and service to the community. For more information about Presbyterian College, visit www.presby.edu.