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Ferrises Endow Chair In Business
Carl and Connie Ferris of Rock Hall, MD, have given $1 million to the Campaign for Washington's College to establish a new chair in business management. The gift will be matched by the Hodson Trust Challenge.
Having retired to Kent County from upstate New York, the Ferrises were introduced to President John Toll and his work at Washington College by a mutual friend from Cornell University.
"We admire John Toll for his outstanding leadership at Washington College," said Ferris, "and that is our primary reason for giving.
"My wish in endowing a business management chair is to promote the value of a business background for liberal arts students," added Ferris, who believes that a business management education is a broadly applicable form of learning, just like the liberal arts and sciences.
"Studying business adds a dimension to education that you can use in many areas-relational and people skills, communications and financial management skills, all of which are practical skills for life."
The Ferrises are graduates of Cornell. Carl Ferris studied mechanical engineering and had a 16-year-long career with DuPont in research, technical services and sales management before becoming an entrepreneur in the fast-food franchising business. In 1962, he opened the first Burger King in southeastern Pennsylvania and went on to develop the lucrative Philadelphia market for Burger King before selling his territory in 1985.
"We have a very strong department of business management," remarked President John Toll. "The Ferrises' generous gift will make it even stronger and help give our students a rich and practical background in business education."
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