Guilford College

The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation of Greater Greensboro Inc. has made a gift of $1 million to Guilford College to honor 40 years of service to the College by Joseph M. Bryan Jr.  The commitment pushed Guilford’s Advancing Excellence campaign past $50 million toward its goal of $60 million by June 30, 2014.

The gift will be applied to the cost of creating a plaza on the north side of Founders Hall next summer and to an endowment for the Center for Principled Problem Solving (CPPS). The plaza is in addition to gift-funded building renovations scheduled to be completed in August. The CPPS endowment was established by a $2.5 million challenge gift from former trustee Dan Mosca and his wife, Beth. The College is raising $2.5 million toward the challenge.

“Guilford College is deeply grateful for this substantial gift to Advancing Excellence from the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation,” said President Kent Chabotar. “The foundation has been a leader in supporting higher education institutions for many years. This support has enabled Guilford to provide students with outstanding facilities and distinctive educational opportunities.”

The foundation was established by Joseph M. Bryan Sr. and has prioritized education in its philanthropy.  Guilford has received a total of $2 million in gifts from the foundation, including a $1 million gift to the Our Time in History campaign toward construction of the Joseph M. Bryan Jr. Auditorium in the Frank Family Science Center.

Joseph M. Bryan Jr. is a private investor and Greensboro civic leader. He is chair of Guilford’s Board of Trustees, of which he has been a member since 1973, and chair of the Advancing Excellence campaign.

Bryan has strong ties to Guilford College. In addition to his service on the Board of Trustees, he was a member of the College’s Board of Visitors from 1970-73 and served as president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors in 1972-73. He established the Bryan Series, Guilford’s distinguished major lecture series, and endowed the program with $3.5 million in gifts.  

“Joe’s long-term service to Guilford as a trustee and in other leadership roles continues to be greatly valued and critical to the College’s well-being,” Chabotar said. “We are very proud that Joe is an alumnus, grateful for his many contributions and pleased that the foundation is honoring him in this way.”

Active statewide for many years, Bryan has supported and provided leadership for many nonprofits including Triad Health Project, New Garden Friends School, Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art, United Arts Council of Greensboro, and Eastern Music Festival and School. He has served on the boards of many cultural and civic organizations across the state, and in 2005 he received the North Carolina Award – the highest civilian award presented by the state. 

Bryan earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Guilford in 1960.