BB&T contributes $2.5 million for study of capitalism at Gatton

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Left to right: George Wallace, senior vice president, BB&T; David W. Blackwell, dean, UK Gatton College of Business & Economics; Heath W. Campbell, regional president, BB&T Kentucky Region; Lee Hess, retired regional president, BB&T Kentucky, member, BB&T Lexington Advisory Board

BB&T has provided $2.5 million to fund the BB&T Program for the Study of Capitalism at the University of Kentucky’s expanded and renovated Gatton College of Business and Economics, scheduled to open in fall 2016.

The program will offer financial support for research, education and outreach to “engage both the academic community and the public in a sustained examination of capitalism from economic, historical, legal and social perspectives,” according to a release from the University of Kentucky.

John Garen, Gatton professor of economics, will serve as the program’s director. The program will also fund a BB&T professorship for the study of capitalism, with Garen named as the first to hold that post. The program will support faculty, graduate students and undergraduate coursework. The funding will also be used to bring in speakers, offer an academic conference and public forums and provide research funding.

“We are honored to partner with the University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics, and we believe BB&T’s strong presence and identity will have an immediate and lasting impact on both the university and the broader community,” said Heath W. Campbell, president of BB&T’s Kentucky region, in a media statement. “We are confident that our commitment to providing needed resources for this new facility will help students in their future endeavors and contribute to tomorrow’s business leaders for the region and across Kentucky.”

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