Georgia State alumnus donates $4 million dollars

Georgia State’s oldest alumnus, Ernest G. Welch, died on Dec. 26, 2009 at 103. He left around $4 million dollars of their estate to the school named after himself.

The Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design are currently researching on how best to distribute this generous gift.

According to a Georgia State press release, the money will be invested through the university’s endowment. This provides annual support to the school.

“It’s huge,” said Ralph Gilbert, associate dean for fine arts at Georgia State. “This money could support programs, bring in visiting artists and scholars, enhance infrastructure, boost scholarship and develop international programs.

Welch’s camera collection was also left to the school.

The faculty is currently looking at other art programs in colleges to better improve the school art program with this new money.

Welch was a 1999 graduate of the School of Art and Design. In 2002 he enrolled in introductory paining and drawing classes to further his art and photography skills.

He also graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1928 where he earned a degree in business.  After graduating, he served as counterintelligence in  World War II. Welch also worked for Sonoco Products Company.

“Ernest was an incredibly kind and generous man,” said Nancy Peterman, vice president for development at Georgia State. “We are truly grateful for his bequest, which will benefit future generations of art students here for many years to come.”

For more information on the school, visit www.gsu.edu/art.
 

• Facebook Comments
• Site Comments

Be the first to comment on this article!

Add comment


I am not posting spam. I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

Enter the characters in the image above:

log out