HPU Raises $195 Million

HIGH POINT, N.C., Sept. 25, 2025 – High Point University has received a record amount of major gifts recently that total more than $195 million.

In the last quarter alone, HPU has received approximately $37 million in philanthropic investments, including several new multimillion-dollar gifts that support academics, athletics and campus growth. Several new gifts come from families who have previously given to HPU over the years and who demonstrate continued appreciation for HPU’s transformational trajectory.

“The advocacy and support HPU receives from accomplished leaders is a testament to the success HPU prepares students to achieve,” says HPU President Nido Qubein. “Because many families believe in and are truly invested in HPU’s mission and values, they partner with this university to further our commitment to instill premier life skills in our students. They want to be part of HPU, and we are honored to receive such impressive levels of philanthropic investments that will support generations of students to come.”

While some remain anonymous, HPU is grateful for every gift and continual advocacy from the following families:

New Multimillion-Dollar Gifts:

• John and Lorraine Charman have contributed $41 million to HPU in total with the recent addition of a $11 million gift to support the John and Lorraine Charman Library. The family originally provided the lead gift of $30 million for the project. Ground was recently broken on campus for the library, which will be the university’s flagship library when it opens in 2027.

• The Wanek family has invested $35 million in HPU with the recent addition of a $5 million gift from Ron and Joyce Wanek, Todd and Karen Wanek, and the entire Wanek family to support HPU’s continued growth. HPU’s G. Wanek Student Center is named for Ron Wanek, the founder of Ashley Furniture, and the Wanek School of Natural Sciences is named for Todd, the CEO of Ashley Furniture, and Karen, the president of Superior Fresh.

• David and Christy Cottrell have generously given $14 million in total to HPU with a recent $6 million gift to support the Women’s Entrepreneurship Program and a new Japanese Garden being built near Cottrell Hall, which is a hub of professional development named in honor of the family. The Cottrells’ daughter graduated from HPU.

• Doug Witcher ‘77, a prominent business and community leader, has supported HPU with $24.7 million in total after contributing a new $3.6 million gift to HPU to support a new baseball indoor hitting facility and other initiatives in HPU Athletics. Witcher, who is an HPU alumnus, serves on HPU’s Board of Trustees and is the founder and CEO of Smart Choice, a Triad-based insurance network with more than 10,000 independent agencies and 100 carrier partners. Witcher has been a longtime HPU supporter. The Douglas S. Witcher School of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences and the Witcher Athletic Center on campus are named in his honor.

• Mark ‘83 and Jerri Webb have supported HPU with a total of $11.5 million, including a recent $1 million contribution for enhancements to the Webb School of Engineering and HPU Athletics. The school is named for the family after Mark made a multimillion-dollar gift in 2016 in honor of his father, Lewis Andrew Webb, mother Janice Webb, and their entire family. Mark is a 1983 alumnus and native of High Point. He owns and operates Interstate Foam and Supply, Inc. in Conover, North Carolina, where the company employees more than 300 associates.

• The Estate of Bill Goldston ‘47 has made a gift of $5 million. In the 1950s, Bill founded his own trucking firm, Goldston Inc., selling it years later to a Fortune 500 industrial group. A member of the North Carolina Senate for two terms, he led in creating the North Carolina Highway Trust fund.

New Gifts of Approximately $1 Million

• The Estate of Randall Johnson gave $1.1 million for the support of music and theater performances.
• Thelma Eichholz ‘62 has included a $1 million gift in her estate plans for student scholarships.
• Cordia Harrington contributed $1 million to support the Workman School of Dental Medicine.
• Robert and Dianne Hamer gave $1 million to support HPU’s continued growth.
• Shane and Holly Smith provided a $1 million contribution to support the construction of the new Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law.
• The David Hayworth Foundation is adding $900,000 to the already $25 million the Hayworth family has given over the years. The new gift is for renovations to David Hayworth Park. The Hayworth family has been a tremendous supporter. On campus, the following facilities are named in their honor: David Hayworth Park; Charles E. Hayworth Sr. Memorial Chapel; David R. Hayworth School of Arts and Design; David R. Hayworth Hall; and the Hayworth Fine Arts Center.

Other Major Gifts from the Last Three Years:

• Teresa B. Caine generously expanded her support for HPU in 2024 as the university launched a nursing school. The academic school is the first to be named on campus for a prominent woman leader. The Caine family’s total giving amounts to more than eight figures in recent years, including the Teresa B. Caine School of Nursing and the Caine Conservatory. Teresa’s husband, Don, was a native of Greensboro, North Carolina, and graduated from HPU in 1965. In 1966, he and Teresa founded C&M Products, now known as Camco Manufacturing. The company began with one product, trailer plumbing antifreeze (TPA), and two employees, Don and Teresa. The company was incorporated in 1968, and with the milestone the Caines began to build their team. When the company was sold in 2021, it employed more than 1,500 people and manufactured over 5,600 products.
• The David and Helen Congdon Charitable Foundation supported HPU with a major multimillion-dollar gift for the new Congdon School of Entrepreneurship. The school was officially named for the Congdons in spring 2024 and is now home to students studying entrepreneurship, sales, event management and hospitality management. It is the only private entrepreneurship school in North Carolina. The Congdon family has been longtime HPU supporters. The university officially opened Congdon Hall, a 222,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility that houses two academic schools – the Congdon School of Health Sciences and the Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy. David S. Congdon, executive chairman of Old Dominion Freight Line Inc., spoke during the announcement.
• HPU received a gift from Bergmann & Moore, LLC to establish a pro bono law clinic within the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law that will focus on ethically helping veterans receive military benefits after they are denied. Bergmann & Moore, LLC, based in Rockville, Maryland, is one of the nation’s largest law firms practicing solely in the area of veterans’ benefits. HPU’s pro bono veterans law clinic will be named after Bergmann & Moore, LLC, as well as the space that the clinic occupies on campus.
• The Rick and Angie Workman Foundation gave $32 million as the lead gift for HPU’s Workman School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Rick Workman is HPU’s Dental Innovator in Residence and the founder of Heartland Dental, which supports more than 1,600 offices nationwide.

• Ken and Jana Kahn gave a total of $40 million to establish the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law, support the Kahn Hotel that is part of HPU’s Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center, and to create the annual Kenneth F. and Jana S. Kahn Extraordinary Staff Awards presented to HPU staff members as a way to thank them for their service to students and students’ families.

• Several million more for scholarships, academic programs and student life facilities, such as The Bergman Hillel House established by Sam and Amanda Bergman, parents of two HPU students; a $2 million contribution from Jerry Murdock for campus enhancement and the HPU Fund for Extraordinary Education; a $1 million contribution from Joe and Julie Murphy to create an endowment for the School of Nursing; a $1.1 million gift from the estate of the late Jerline W. Bender, wife of the late Edward “Bud” Bender, a High Point College graduate; and many others.
• A record number of parents and families also gave to HPU during this time.