Spotlight Donor Profiles

UNC Charlotte Honors Cato Family Patriarch

Clarice Cato Goodyear paused for a moment to regain her composure, and then continued her speech about Wayland H. Cato, Jr. In an emotional address, Goodyear praised the person she knows not only as a businessman and philanthropist, but also as her father.

On this day family members, friends and dignitaries came together to recognize Cato Jr., who, through the years, has made significant contributions to education and scholarship, not only at UNC Charlotte but also throughout the state and country. The cause for celebration was the dedication of the new admissions building, now known as Wayland H. Cato Jr. Hall.

The Wayland H. Cato Jr. Foundation has pledged $1 million to establish a permanently endowed fellowship program in UNC Charlotte’s graduate school. The Wayland H. Cato Jr. Endowed Fellowship Fund will assist in recruiting outstanding doctoral students by providing the incentive of an academic-year merit fellowship, says Tom Reynolds, dean of the graduate school. Preference will be given to graduate students who show evidence of 1) financial need, as determined by the graduate school, based on an assessment of the cost of attendance and the financial resources of the student and/or 2) the potential to make a significant contribution to society by completing the terminal degree in their chosen discipline.

In general, graduate students meet the cost of attending the university in a variety of ways, Reynolds says, including research and teaching assistantships, fellowships and grants, loans and personal funds.

“In order to increase our graduate programming at UNC Charlotte, we must provide financial support, which is both sufficient in quantity and of the right kind,” he says. “Graduate students require different types of funding at various points in their careers. Conceivably, the most crucial component, from the point of view of competitiveness in graduate student funding, is fellowship dollars. The graduate school at UNC Charlotte is extremely grateful to Wayland H. Cato, Jr. for this generous donation that will allow us to enhance our efforts to recruit, support and retain exceptional graduate students,” Reynolds adds.

The Cato Jr. family’s involvement with UNC Charlotte is lengthy. Wayland H. Cato, Jr. is a former Foundation Board member, serving as a director from 1995 to 2002. In May 2000, UNC Charlotte conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. In the Belk College of Business, Wayland H. Cato, Jr. established the John P. Derham Cato Endowed Scholarship Fund to honor the contributions to The Cato Corporation of his son, John.

In addition, The Cato Corporation created the Thomas Edgar (Tom) Cato Endowed Scholarship Fund to honor the contributions to the company of Cato Jr.’s son, Tom. Clarice Cato Goodyear and her husband, J. Dent Goodyear, endowed scholarship funds at the university to honor Clarice’s father and in their own names. John Cato serves on the Business Advisory Council of the Belk College of Business, and he, Clarice Cato Goodyear and Dent Goodyear all serve on the university’s Board of Visitors. Additionally, John Cato graduated from UNC Charlotte, as did Rhonda Gibson Cato, wife of Wayland H. Cato, III. Wayland H. Cato, III, a renowned glass artist, donated an original, seven-foot, engraved, glass panel of his, designed and created specifically for the university. The work is displayed in the J. Murrey Atkins Library.

“The Wayland H. Cato Jr. family has distinguished itself as a leader in business and in education,” says Chancellor Emeritus Jim Woodward. “We appreciate the contributions they have made to UNC Charlotte over the years by establishing scholarships and promoting learning opportunities for students in a number of areas. We also are grateful to them for their years of service on our boards.”

Wayland H. Cato, Jr. was born in 1923 to Annie Derham Cato and Wayland Henry Cato, Sr. Born in Ridge Spring, S.C., he was raised in Bath, S.C., and Augusta, Ga. He attended UNC Chapel Hill and graduated in the top three percent of his class with a bachelor of science degree in commerce in 1944. He also graduated as the third highest scholastic ranking member of his Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps class. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy as commanding officer of a minesweeper in the Pacific Theater. Upon his honorable discharge in the summer of 1946, he joined his father in forming what would become The Cato Corporation, a chain of women’s apparel stores. In 1960, he became president of the company. In 1968, he added the duties of chief executive officer, and, in 1970, he became chairman, president and CEO. He retired from the company in 2004 and is now chairman emeritus. Today, there are over 1,100 Cato stores in 29 states. Wayland H. Cato, Jr. also serves on the boards of numerous educational, civic, cultural and trade organizations.

In her speech, Clarice Cato Goodyear, the eldest of Cato Jr.’s children, spoke fondly about her father as family man. She smiled as she recalled growing up on a farm in what was then rural south Mecklenburg County. Goodyear said her father wanted to recreate for his children the rural experiences of childhood that he had enjoyed growing up in Horse Creek Valley, S.C.

Wayland H. Cato, Jr. and Margaret Catherine Boutt were married in 1946 and had eight children in their first 11 years of marriage. When Margaret Boutt Cato died suddenly in 1963, she left behind seven children. Goodyear recalled how, after the funeral, relatives came back to the Cato Jr. home to talk with her father about which family members would take each of his children to raise.

Goodyear said it was a Southern tradition then that if the mother died, relatives took in the children, since it was assumed that a man alone could not run a household and take care of children. She said her father was aghast at the suggestion, thanked the relatives for the generosity of their offer and assured them that he and his children would remain together as a family.

“On the weekends, all seven of us children would go horseback riding around the farm with Dad,” Goodyear says. “We were quiet, while Dad pondered business issues, but when he was ready to talk we were always at hand.”

Goodyear says her father’s two main goals in life were to have a large, cohesive family and to lead a successful business. He achieved both. Cato Jr. believed that a prosperous business would be the platform for success for his children and grandchildren in their future endeavors, and he remained true to that vision, Goodyear adds.

As his children were growing up, Cato Jr. made sure each of them worked on the farm as well as in the family business. They also accompanied their father and grandfather on business trips to New York and to Cato stores throughout the South.

Goodyear says the Cato Jr. family has remained close in spite of living in various locations and having different schedules. In 1998, Wayland Cato, Jr. married Marion Rivers Ravenel of Charleston, S.C. In 2001, the couple began spending much of their time on their working cattle ranch in north central Wyoming. The family of 20 frequently visits and travels together. Here in Charlotte, the seven siblings, with their families, continue the Family Night tradition their father established many years ago.

“Once or twice a month, the family gets together for dinner and an evening of boisterous conversation,” Goodyear says.

Also attending the May 6, 2004, dedication was The Honorable James B. Black, Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives. Black presented Cato Jr. with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, given by the Governor’s Office to recognize outstanding service to the state. The award is the most prestigious award given to a North Carolina citizen.

After the ceremony, guests were invited to tour Cato Hall and enjoy dessert stations that were set up on each of the three floors. A plaque in the lobby celebrates Cato Jr.’s life and commemorates his involvement with UNC Charlotte. It seems fitting that there is also a bronze bust of Wayland H. Cato, Jr. set atop a pedestal – welcoming visitors to the building where the graduate school resides.