Wells Fargo Private Bank has donated $25,000 to Campbell University to expand a fund of over $400,000 that provides scholarships for students in the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business’ Trust & Wealth Management Program.
The bank initially established the Wells Fargo Trust Scholarship in September 2012 with a $25,000 gift to aid trust majors at Campbell, with first preference for female and/or minority students.
“We are very proud of the talented students that we have hired from Campbell’s Trust & Wealth Management Program,” said Laurence Chambers, director of fiduciary management services in Winston-Salem for Wells Fargo Private Bank. “These students have chosen an exciting career and have received exceptional training that will set them on a course to be successful in the trust and wealth management profession.”
Wells Fargo presented a check for the new $25,000 contribution on Sept. 13 before more than 100 juniors, seniors and fifth year 4/1 students in the School of Business who were visiting the Bank to learn more about career opportunities. Dean Kevin O’Mara and Jimmy Witherspoon, director of the Trust & Wealth Management program, accepted the check on Campbell’s behalf.
Joseph Ready – Executive Vice President / Head of Trust and Fiduciary Services – and Laurence Chambers ’01 – Senior Vice President / Director, Fiduciary Management Services – held a Q&A to answer common student questions.
“This is a wonderful demonstration of Wells Fargo’s continuing commitment to the university, to the Trust & Wealth Management program and, most importantly, to our students,” Witherspoon, said. “Thanks to this very generous contribution, Wells Fargo is enabling students at Campbell to fulfill their dreams.”
Christopher Matthews, a fifth-year, 4+1 student, at Campbell, was one of 10 students awarded the Wells Fargo Scholarship this year.
“Being awarded this scholarship is something that I do not take lightly,” Matthews said. “This scholarship means a great deal to me and my family, and it is an honor to receive this award from such an outstanding organization.”
“I also want to thank Wells Fargo for the continued support and loyalty that has been shown to Campbell University. The generosity and support of Wells Fargo has afforded many individuals who have come before me with financial support to fulfill their academic goals and for that, I am extremely grateful.”
Campbell is the only university in the U.S. to offer an undergraduate degree in trust and wealth management. Former Campbell President Norman Adrian Wiggins, who was once a trust officer and expert in trust law, established the program at the university in 1967. These days, 45 to 50 students graduate from Campbell with a trust degree each year — many of whom also graduate with an MBA thanks to the 4/1 program. Nearly all trust majors complete at least one summer internship at major banks such as Wells Fargo, and many also go on to work at one. The job placement rate for Campbell’s trust majors is 95 percent by graduation.
“It has been an honor for the trust program to partner with our friends at Wells Fargo (or their predecessor banks) for over 40 years,” Witherspoon said. “We are very proud to have literally hundreds of Campbell trust alumni serving their clients throughout the nation as associates of Wells Fargo.”