Alum Leaves Fayetteville State University $25,000 from His Estate
Fayetteville State University (FSU) announced today a $25,000 gift from the estate of Charles H. Mumford, Sr., a 1949 graduate of FSU. The gift will be used for a scholarship in Mumford’s name and will support scholar athletes. Mumford died in August 2011.
“He knew the value of education,” said Dr. Stephen Fuller, trustee of Mumford’s estate. “I would eat lunch with him and there was not a restaurant that he would go into where he would not talk to the waiter or waitress and he would ask, ‘Are you in college?’ If they were not, he would get all over their case. That was high on his radar screen. Getting a college education was so important to him. That was the thought behind his gift. He wasn’t just for athletics; he was for scholarship and athletes who were scholars.”
Mumford was both. Athletically, he was a member of the baseball, basketball, and football teams. In 1994, he was inducted into the FSU Athletic Hall of Fame. Academically, he was the first student body president, a precursor to what is now known as the Student Government Association and graduated from FSU with honors with a degree in education. Upon graduation he taught in the public schools of North Carolina. Mumford went on to do further academic work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, George Washington University, and the New Jersey Community Action Training Institute.
“He wanted the university to become more,” Fuller said. “He was a striver himself. He wanted the university to move forward, reach out, and become great.”
Gifts like those from Mumford allow the university to do just that, said FSU Chancellor James Anderson. He said dedicated and loyal alumni like Mumford enable institutions like FSU to make a college education for its students affordable.
“Mr. Mumford indeed was very fond of FSU and supported the university in a variety of capacities,” Chancellor Anderson said. “He genuinely loved FSU and wanted to see it succeed in every way possible. It is my sincere hope that the scholar athletes who are recipients of his generosity are made aware of his commitment to education, especially the education of young people.”
FSU is the second-oldest public institution in North Carolina. A member of the University of North Carolina System, FSU has nearly 6,000 students and offers degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
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