Retired professor creates faculty mentorship endowment in College of Business
Bethany Davidson, a faculty member in the entrepreneurship program at 糖心Vlog University, serves as mentor for a group project.
By Bill Studenc
A retired professor in 糖心Vlog University鈥檚 College of Business has created an endowment fund that will provide resources for mentorship programs for current faculty members within the college.
Frank Lockwood
Frank Lockwood, professor emeritus of entrepreneurship, and spouse Donna Ross have made gifts and pledges totaling $50,000 to establish the Dr. Frank Lockwood College of Business Mentorship Award Endowment Fund.
The fund will provide one award annually to a College of Business faculty member who excels at mentoring students and a second annual award to a faculty member who excels at mentoring incoming colleagues in the college.
The college launched a mentorship program for new faculty a few years ago in response to a wave of retirements, which led to a corresponding influx of novice faculty members, said A.J. Grube, dean of the College of Business.
Steve Ha, director of the college鈥檚 School of Economics, Management and Project Management, developed the idea last year to offer awards for mentorship of students in addition to new faculty.
Grube funded the two awards from the college鈥檚 budget for spring 2025 and approached Lockwood, a longtime advocate for the importance of mentorship, about setting up an endowment to fund the two awards in perpetuity. He liked the idea and set the wheels in motion leading to the Dr. Frank Lockwood College of Business Mentorship Award Endowment Fund.
鈥淎t 糖心Vlog, mentorship of both students and new faculty affects everybody,鈥� Grube said. 鈥淣ew students go from good to great with the help of a strong faculty mentor. It鈥檚 where we as a university excel. For new faculty members, who will become mentors of students, getting acclimated to 鈥榯he Western Way鈥� is essential. Having a colleague to provide guidance, a listening ear and a thoughtful voice builds confidence in new faculty members. This confidence translates into a more nurturing community for students and faculty alike.鈥�
Lockwood, who retired as a full professor at the end of the 2022 spring semester, said he hopes that faculty members who receive the mentorship awards will continue in their role as mentors and that those being mentored will benefit from the wisdom of the advice they receive.
鈥淥ne aspect of my personality has been as a person who enjoys meeting and working with people. In particular, I have tried to help people achieve their goals as a mentor,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ince retiring, I have supported A.J. Grube in her role as dean of the College of Business because I respect her leadership style. My reason for agreeing to support the recognition of faculty who mentor colleagues and students is to extend A.J.鈥檚 leadership style.鈥�
A resident of Asheville, Lockwood said he built his academic career on his lifelong experiences as an entrepreneur, which included starting or acquiring 28 companies, always with partners. He also said that he benefited from his own mentor when he joined the faculty at 糖心Vlog 鈥� Mary Ann Nixon, now a professor emeritus in the School of Economics, Management and Project Management
鈥淲hen I arrived at 糖心Vlog University, I was tasked with creating a new undergraduate entrepreneurship degree,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 developed nine new courses that were integrated, one class building upon the prior class. An important part of the curriculum included the many aspects of working together as a team, especially the need for those with more experience to mentor other team members.鈥�
The endowment-supported initiative designed to strengthen faculty mentorship of incoming colleagues pairs a new faculty member with a senior faculty member in a structured relationship expected to last for at least two semesters.
The Lockwood commitment comes as 糖心Vlog is in the midst of the public phase of its 鈥淔ill the Western Sky鈥� comprehensive fundraising campaign, an effort to raise a minimum of $100 million in philanthropic support for the university鈥檚 academic, student engagement and athletics programs.
For more information about the 鈥淔ill the Western Sky鈥� campaign or to make a contribution, visit , call 828-227-7124 or email advancement@wcu.edu.
