Alum Gives to Help Attract Top Faculty

S. Frank Culberson, a chemical engineering alumnus, and his wife, Doris, have pledged $1 million over five years to establish two professorships in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

The gift will be supplemented by contributions from the state’s Distinguished Professorship Endowment Trust Fund, bringing the total donation to $1.5 million. One professorship will help recruit or retain a senior faculty member, while the second could be filled by another established professor or a rising star in the field.

“World-class faculty members not only bring their own research projects to an institution, they also open doors and serve as outstanding mentors and role models for their students,” Frank Culbertson said. “Endowed professorships are instrumental for moving the college and department forward.”

Culberson, a native of Siler City, N.C., is chairman and a director of Rimkus Consulting Group, a 400-person forensic consulting and engineering firm headquartered in Houston. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from NC State and an M.B.A. from the University of Houston in 1966. A 2002 Distinguished Engineering Alumnus, he also serves as president of the NC State Engineering Foundation. Doris Culberson, a native of Liberty, N.C., is a former Houston-area high school teacher.

The couple previously endowed the S. Frank and Doris Culberson Academic Enhancement Fund in Chemical Engineering.