60 for 60: Durham Tech Foundation makes impact for nearly 40 years

In celebration of Durham Technical Community College’s 60th anniversary, the College is publishing 60 for 60 – a storytelling campaign that highlights the people, places, and events that have progressed and shaped the College’s six decades of impact. To view more 60 for 60 stories, visit www.durhamtech.edu/60for60. 

Behind every great community college is a foundation on a mission – to provide students with the financial means to pursue their dreams, to upgrade classrooms with state-of-the-art technology and equipment, to improve campus infrastructure, and to fund initiatives that support tomorrow’s workforce.
 
For Durham Tech, that mission began in 1982. 

In November of that year, Durham Tech President Dr. Phail Wynn, Jr., L.A. Veasey, Dr. Susan Payne, and George Newton saw the need for donations and established the Durham Technical Institute Foundation as the fundraising arm of the College.
 
Two years later, the Foundation was officially recognized as a 501c3, nonprofit organization and on November 5, 1986, the name changed to Durham Technical Community College Foundation.

Augusta Julian became the first Executive Director of the Foundation in 1985.

“One of my first responsibilities was to begin fundraising. We started a campaign that next year and started an annual campus campaign. Our first campaign raised more than $500,000 over several years. A big part of it was Lloydette Hoof, whom I hired as the development officer. She was a wonderful, knowledgeable, friendly, and caring person who knew many prominent folks,” Julian said.
 
The Foundation was established to support the growth and development of the College by acquiring and managing philanthropic gifts and grants, and building strong partnerships with stakeholders and donors to provide for financial needs beyond the scope of public dollars. 

These partnerships allow the Foundation to provide transformative opportunities for students, the College, and Durham and Orange counties. 

Lou Rollins served as Executive Director from June 1990 through December 2007 and said she loved every minute of her time in that role. 

“During my time, numerous programs began such as the annual cycle of small grants to faculty and staff, the employee benevolence fund, the Campus Fund Drive, the first capital campaign for technology, and the investments and scholarships grew exponentially,” Rollins said.

The Foundation plays a vital role in growing resources for student scholarships, the Campus Harvest Food Pantry, emergency grants, the College’s Equity and Inclusion Action Plan, back-to-work course offerings, employee training, and more. 
 
Melissa Chappell, current Executive Director of the Foundation, started in 2014.  

Under Chappell’s leadership, Durham Tech received the largest gift in the College’s history from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina in the Summer of 2020 – a $1 million grant to launch a community mobile health lab. 

“Durham Tech Foundation leadership is motivated by our organization’s newly adopted vision: to be a leader in building a community where all have equitable access to education, employment, and opportunity. That is the driving force behind our work,” Chappell said. 
 
Learn more about the Durham Tech Foundation.  

For more information, contact Desiree Towson, M.S., Communications and Public Relations Coordinator, at allisontowsond@durhamtech.edu.