Wachovia Contributes $100,000 to UNC Asheville

Wilma M. Sherrill Center, courtesy UNC Asheville

Staff Reports

Wachovia, a longtime North Carolina bank bought by Wells Fargo Company in 2009, has announced a $100,000 contribution to UNC Asheville. The funds will support a $25,000 Wachovia-Wells Fargo Endowed Scholarship for Future Teachers, and will provide $75,000 in unrestricted support to the new Wilma M. Sherrill Center, housing the N.C. Center for Health & Wellness and Kimmel Arena.

“We are pleased to make this grant to UNC Asheville,” said Robby Russell, market president for Wells Fargo in Asheville.“Wachovia has long been a supporter of education in Western North Carolina. This grant demonstrates Wells Fargo’s ongoing commitment to the Asheville community as we move forward in our integration. We’re responsible for being leaders to promote the long-term economic prosperity and quality of life for everyone in our communities. If they prosper, so do we.”

UNC Asheville Chancellor Anne Ponder said, “Scholarship support for our extraordinary students and Wachovia’s investment in UNC Asheville, the ‘intellectual capital’ of Asheville, couldn’t come at a better time.”

The UNC Asheville Board of Trustees voted in December to name the new building in honor of Sherrill, a long-time advocate for health and wellbeing for children and families.