NC State University Foundation Grant to Help Fund Veterans Memorial and Garden

A new place to honor and remember our nation’s service members will soon become part of NC State’s campus thanks to funding from the NC State University Foundation.

The foundation’s board members recently voted to award $25,000 to the Division of Academic and Student Affairs (DASA) for the construction of a veterans memorial and garden, which is slated to be completed by Memorial Day (May 27) 2024. This site will commemorate members of the Wolfpack who have served in the U.S. armed forces and made the ultimate sacrifice.

The memorial and garden is a fitting addition to NC State, as the university has a longtime military connection.

“NC State has a rich military history, which also includes our highly regarded ROTC programs that have prepared and commissioned some of the most influential and well-known military leaders,” Nick Drake, director of NC State’s Jeffrey Wright Military and Veterans Services, said. “In fact, NC State ROTC programs have graduated more flag and general officers than any other four-year institution in the country outside of the service academies and those that have a corps of cadets.”

The veterans memorial and garden will be on the Court of North Carolina adjacent to Page Hall. This location not only gives visitors a beautiful place to stop, think and reflect, but also aligns well with another NC State landmark nearby.

“What’s great about this space is that it ties into the Memorial Belltower here at NC State, which gives us further connection to honoring those who have served our country,” Drake said. 

“What we’re looking to do is get some plaques with QR codes so that you can scan and see those who have served our military here at NC State and those we’ve lost, doing some landscaping and making some small modifications so that you can stand and get a clear view of the Belltower,” Kyle Snyder, NC State’s assistant registrar for veteran services, said.

The funding for this military tribute comes as part of the NC State University Foundation’s annual grant awards. Each spring, the foundation invites the colleges and units associated with it to submit grant proposals for non-recurring funds that are awarded for the fiscal year beginning that summer. Grant proposals can be for as much as $25,000 and are intended to help the college or unit implement a new program/initiative or expand on an existing one.

Written submissions are accompanied by short videos explaining the importance of each grant to the enhancement of the undergraduate and graduate experiences at NC State. The foundation’s Awards and Grants Committee members then vote for their top choices at the annual board meeting, in June.

The board is made up of more than two dozen members, with Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Brian Sischo serving as the board’s president. Mike Constantino ’84, ‘85 is the board’s current chair.

“The NC State Foundation has offered a grants program for many years to encourage faculty and students to request funding for innovative ideas and programs,” Constantino said. “Several of these grant-funded projects have become permanent fixtures on campus.

“This year in particular, the DASA veterans memorial and garden project will recognize the long military history NC State has going back to its founding,” Constantino added. “We are pleased to celebrate this very important relationship with the brave NC State alumni who have served our country.”

The Foundation awarded nine additional grants for the 2023-2024 fiscal year for a total of $224,335. They include funding for: 

• a high school teacher development program (College of Education – $25,000)
• cadet training room refurbishments (Division of Academic and Student Affairs – $24,815)
• the building of an interdisciplinary community of entrepreneurial graduate students (College of Education – $25,000)
• the incorporation of cutting-edge data analytics research into the classroom (Poole College of Management – $19,520)
• education outreach and extension resource centers (College of Education – $25,000)
• four projects in the College of Design totaling $80,000

For more information on how the NC State University Foundation helps power the Pack, click here.