Spotlight Donor Profiles

Irwin "Ike" Belk Honored by UNC Charlotte

UNC Charlotte has presented Irwin "Ike" Belk with the 2007 Distinguished Service Award - one of its most prestigious honors.

Belk's longstanding relationship with the university is legendary. He has played integral roles in the history and development of the school. When Belk served in the North Carolina legislature, he introduced the 1965 bill to establish Charlotte College as The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He convinced 49 of the state's 50 senators to support the bill; that feat has never been equaled.

"Ike is a man of extraordinary character, leadership, vision and generosity - a man who casts a long shadow locally, throughout North Carolina and across the nation," said Malcom E. "Mac" Everett, chair of UNC Charlotte's Board of Trustees.

Belk also has endowed four academic chairs - in biology, cancer research, health research and nursing - at the university. Those endowments allow UNC Charlotte to recruit the most talented faculty for key professorships.

He has served on several university boards - including its Board of Trustees - and is a charter member of the Bonnie Cone Society, a group of individuals who have included UNC Charlotte in their long-term financial and estate plans.

"Of all the gifts that Ike has given to the university, the greatest impact will come from the endowments he has provided, which will continue to fund important faculty positions," said UNC Charlotte Chancellor Philip L. Dubois. "Those positions will allow UNC Charlotte to educate people who will, in turn, enrich the community with their knowledge and skills."

Belk has helped change the look of campus by donating funds for the construction of the Miltimore-Wallis Athletics Training and Academic Center and the Irwin Belk Track and Field Center. He also made UNC Charlotte the only university in the nation to have such an extensive athletic statuary collection with the 14 bronze statues representing every inter-collegiate sport.

He started working in the family department store business as a clerk. As president of Belk Finance Company and an officer and director of the Belk group of stores, Belk was in charge of real estate, finance and investments. He went on to serve as a legislator and has been heavily involved for decades with the American Cancer Society and the U.S. Olympics Committee, among other organizations. He is a prolific supporter of higher education.