FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 12, 1998

Rocky Mount, NC – North Carolina Wesleyan College officials announced they received a major gift from the Cannon Foundation. "The Board of Directors of the Cannon Foundation believed in the soundness of the College's plan of capital improvements and stepped forward this spring to make the first major gift of $100,000 to the Quality of Life Campaign," said Wesleyan President John White. The gift will be specifically applied to the new Recreation Center.

The Quality of Life Campaign is in the second year of its silent phase. The $10 million campaign encompasses capital improvements, increasing the College's endowment, and supporting the annual fund. The capital portion supports many campus improvements, including renovation of existing buildings to create the new Patsy and Rufus Hartness Student Center and the Thomas J. Pearsall Jr. Building, which houses the Four Sisters Gallery and state-of-the-art enrollment management offices. New building projects include the completion of a six-court tennis complex, the creation of a College Common, building two new 40-person residential suites, and the expansion to the gymnasium of a 30,000+-square-foot Recreation Center.

The Cannon Foundation was established in 1943 by the late Charles A. Cannon, president and chairman of Cannon Mills Company. Cannon established the foundation to carry out his commitment to the State of North Carolina and specifically, to the causes of health, education, and religion.

North Carolina Wesleyan is an independent, four-year liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The College offers bachelor's degrees in 22 majors to traditional-aged students on the Rocky Mount campus. NC Wesleyan also offers an adult degree program geared to working adults, with classes in Rocky Mount, and at additional teaching sites in Raleigh, Goldsboro, and Durham.