Sonoco gives $3 million to
Moore
School
to endow international business department
Sonoco is giving $3
million to the Moore School of Business at the
University of
South Carolina
to endow the school’s
top-ranked international business department.
Sonoco and
university officials announced the gift, the largest single corporate cash gift
to establish an endowed fund at
Carolina, Tuesday, (Oct. 12, 2004), at a
ceremony on USC’s historic
Horseshoe
.
The
Moore
School
will name the
international business department in honor of Sonoco, which is headquartered in
Hartsville and is one of the world’s leading packaging
companies.
USC President
Andrew A. Sorensen thanked Sonoco officials for their generosity and said the
association would solidify the
Moore
School
’s reputation in international
business at home and abroad. “Long before I came to
Carolina, I was aware of the
Moore
School
’s international business program
and its record of excellence in research and teaching,” Sorensen said. “Now,
being associated with the Sonoco name not only will raise the international
business department’s profile internationally, but also broaden and deepen
international business programs in teaching, research and
outreach.”
The $3 million,
permanent endowment will be used to attract and retain top faculty, increase
research, raise the international reputation of the department in academic and
business circles and enhance opportunities and experiences for international
business students.
Harris E. DeLoach,
CEO of Sonoco and an alumnus of the
Moore
School
and USC’s law school, said the gift will
strengthen the partnership between USC and Sonoco and benefit both entities through
increased research and programs. “I am proud to announce Sonoco’s gift to
the country’s premier international business program,” DeLoach said. “It’s a
logical partnership. We’re an international corporation operating in the
Carolinas, and the
Moore
School
has the top international business
program. Sonoco is honored to be associated with this outstanding institution,
and we look forward to forging an even stronger partnership that will benefit
Carolina
, Sonoco and the citizens of this
state.”
The gift agreement
calls for Sonoco and the Sonoco international business department to work
together more closely by increasing student internships, sharing research,
establishing a guest lecturer series, and expanding executive education
programs.
Joel Smith, dean of
the Moore
School, said the gift is a
testament to the strong relationship that USC has built with its corporate
partners and brings momentum to its upcoming fund-raising campaign. “We are
poised on the brink of a major campaign to renovate the Moore School facility and to reinvest in the
programs that make our business school so well known and so respected in the
world,” Smith said. “This announcement is a testament to the strength of our
relationships with our corporate partners and a dramatic demonstration of the
faith placed in the future success of the Moore School of Business at Carolina.”
Sonoco’s $3 million
gift is its second major gift to the Moore School. In 1999, Sonoco gave $1 million to
establish the Sonoco Distinguished Visiting Professorship in International
Business, which brings CEOs to the Moore School
to teach for a semester.
The international
business department provides primary support for the undergraduate and master’s
international business programs—ranked #1 and #2 respectively according to U.S.
News & World Report’s annual surveys—as well as doctoral programs. The
school currently has 394 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in
international business.
Sonoco (NYSE: SON),
founded in 1899, is a $2.8 billion manufacturer of industrial and consumer
packaging products and provider of packaging services, with more than 300
locations in 36 countries, serving customers in some 85
nations.
