Bryant Honored for Volunteer Service

NC State alumnus and longtime volunteer Richard K. Bryant received the 2015 Jerry and Elizabeth Godwin Red Torch Award at a ceremony this month at the Hunt Library.

The award is given annually by the NC State University Foundation to recognize volunteers who have served with leadership, dedication and distinction to advance the university and to further the foundation’s mission. Jerry and Libby Godwin—who have been active in sharing their expertise, counsel and resources to benefit the university—established an endowment for the award program in 2007.

The award was presented June 4 by Chancellor Randy Woodson and Trent Ragland, vice chair of the foundation’s board of directors.

“I’m both humbled and honored to receive this award,” Bryant said. “I’m humbled because it’s great to be associated with the names that have previously received the award. It’s an honor to be recognized by your peers for something that you love to do. Serving NC State is a privilege and it has been a tremendous learning experience for me.

“What’s going on here is phenomenal. This university is bound for greatness—it’s definitely NC State’s time to shine.”

Two Decades of Volunteer Service

Bryant graduated from NC State in 1981 with a B.A. in business management. He is co-founder, president and CEO of Capital Investment Companies, one of the largest independent financial services firms in the region.

He has supported many programs at the university over the past 20 years, serving on the Board of Visitors from 2002 through 2011 and on the NC State University Foundation board from 1995 through 1999.

He has also served on the boards of the NC State Investment Fund and NC State Endowment, and served as co-chair of the Achieve! Campaign Steering Committee for ARTS NC State and co-chair of the Frank Thompson Hall Renovation Project. He currently serves on the NC Textile Foundation Investment Committee.

Bryant’s volunteer service also has included the Campaign for NC State Students, the Park Scholars Selection Committee and the Parents’ Council Leadership Network, with his wife Suzy. He recently retired after 15 years of service on the endowment board of MCNC.

Supporting the Arts and Music

A passionate advocate for the performing and visual arts at the university, Bryant is a founding member and former chair of Friends of ARTS NC STATE. He was honored in 2009 with the Bowers Medal of Arts for this support. He is a founding member of the State Club, a lifetime member of the Wolfpack Club and a 30-year member of the NC State Alumni Association.

Previous honors for Bryant include the Poole College of Management’s Distinguished Alumnus Award and the NC State Alumni Association’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award. At the college, he has served on the Dean’s Advisory Board since 2001, and has been a speaker and mentor for undergraduates, focusing on topics such as entrepreneurship and business planning.

The Bryants are members of the W.H. Page Lifetime Giving Society, through which they support the Poole College of Management, athletics, arts programs, the marching and varsity bands, and other music enhancement efforts.

Woodson thanked Bryant for his dedication to NC State.

“People want to be part of success. Becoming one of the top public universities in the nation, and changing the world …  Those things don’t happen without the power of collaboration and the power of philanthropy,” he said.