Belk College of Business to dedicate reading rooms March 12

UNC Charlotte’s Belk College of Business will dedicate two renovated reading rooms for students in the Friday Buildingon Wednesday, March 12.

The rooms, which were refurbished with funds donated by BB&T Corporation, will be named in honor of Objectivist writer Ayn Rand. The rooms will contain complimentary copies of Rand’s best-known novels that students may take with them, as well as wireless Internet access, conference rooms and carrels where students can study or work on group projects.

BB&T Chairman andCEO John Allison (right), who will be on hand for the dedication, is an admirer of Rand and an ardent supporter of the teaching of ethics and capitalism in business schools.

The dedication will take place from 5:00 to 6:30 PM in the Undergraduate Reading Room (290) in the Friday Building on the UNC Charlotte campus. In addition to Allison and other executives from BB & T, members of the Belk College’s Business Advisory Council also will be in attendance.

Under Allison’s direction, BB&T donated $1 million to the Belk College in 2005 to support curriculum development, fund faculty research, create a speakers series focusing on ethical and core values in business, and support the Center for Professional and Applied Ethics at UNC Charlotte.

With $132.6 billion in assets, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) is the nation’s 14th largest financial holding company. It operates nearly 1,500 financial centers in 11 states and Washington, D.C. More information about the company is available at www.BBT.com.

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Prior to attending the dedication, Allison will address the university community at 4:00 PM at the third annual BB&T Business Ethics Forum. The speech, which is open to the public, will take place in room 17 of the Friday Building; no reservations are required.