The Front Door of the College

Belk Auditorium to undergo major renovation, thanks to the David Belk Cannon Foundation

The William Henry Belk Auditorium opened in 1960, thanks to the generosity of Belk family members and business associates. Since then, Belk Auditorium has become the place where students go for ceremonial rites of passage and where many on and off campus visit for cultural enrichment.

The 1958 groundbreaking ceremony for Belk Auditorium had trustee P.S. Bailey handling the shovel, flanked by board Chairman Robert M. Vance, left, and President Marshall W. Brown.

The Belks and their business associates funded the construction of the auditorium to serve as a memorial to William Henry Belk, the founder of Belk department stores. The construction of Belk Auditorium acknowledged Mr. Belk’s belief in what PC provides young men and women: an excellent academic experience with a faith-based foundation.

Nearly 60 years later, “the front door to the College” will undergo a major renovation. The David Belk Cannon Foundation of Gastonia, N.C., awarded PC $2.7 million to support renovations to beloved Belk Auditorium.

“We are thrilled to partner with Presbyterian College and continue the legacy of service to community and church for which William Henry Belk was known,” said Gene Matthews, President of the David Belk Cannon Foundation.

Cannon, the grandson of Dr. John Belk, lived with the same values the Belks are known for: hard work, commitment, religious faith and generosity. He made it possible for students in need to afford college, and he helped children in need by giving to the Salvation Army.

Cannon served as director and officer of Matthews- Belk department stores based in Gastonia, N.C., and operating Belk stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Texas. He worked for Matthews-Belk department stores for 38 years until his death in 1998. The Foundation’s gift to PC continues the Belk family legacy to help students achieve their educational goals.

“The mission of Presbyterian College, the mission of our Foundation, and the lives that David Belk Cannon and William Henry Belk lived have many common threads,” Matthews said. “Our Board is excited about the opportunity to advance the College while honoring an incredible individual.”

The Belk family’s contributions have advanced the College greatly over the years. The Belks’ gifts total more than $10 million, not including the Cannon Foundation’s $2.7 million gift to renovate Belk. The funding to construct the auditorium in the late 1950s was the family’s first substantial gift to the College. Irwin Belk’s $3.9 million gift to PC in the mid-1990s was the largest ever made at one time to a private college in South Carolina by a living donor.

Evidence of the Belks’ generosity is apparent across campus. Mary Irwin Belk Residence Hall is named in honor of the wife of William Henry Belk. Carol International House and Grotnes Hall bear the name of the wife of Irwin Belk, Carol Grotnes Belk.

The Belks also gave all of the bronze sculptures across campus, including Cyrus, which stands in front of Bailey Memorial Stadium and is the largest bronze statue of a Scotsman in the world. The Belk Atrium in Lassiter Hall also pays homage to the family.

Perhaps the most recognizable gift of all may be Belk Auditorium, simply because the facility is significant to so many on and off campus.

In The Spirit of PC, Ben Hay Hammet ’43, who served as the College’s director of alumni relations, annual giving and public relations from 1949 to 1989, states that the opening of Belk Auditorium enabled the College to bring “top performing artists” and that “church groups were more readily accommodated” to campus.

“The first year’s calendar included the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, New York Concert Trio ... as well as noted lecturers on history and literature,” Hammet writes. The founder of Habitat for Humanity International Millard Fuller and many other notable lecturers and performers have taken the stage in Belk since then. Fuller, Jesse Jackson, Ben Stein and Cornel West have all spoken to standing room only crowds inside the auditorium.

The Four Freshmen brought their mix of jazz and barbershop vocals to the Belk stage in 1961. Forty-eight years later, the Grammy Award-winning Avett Brothers brought their folk music to Belk to promote their first-ever CD.

Since 1999, many have driven hundreds of miles to begin their Christmas season by attending the annual Christmas at PC performances on the first weekend in December. Further, Belk is often the first stop that high school students and their parents make when they visit PC.

And, even more, for nearly 60 years, students have gone to Belk for their most significant rites of passage in college. Students have filed into Belk to officially begin the academic year during Convocation, and seniors have worn their caps and gowns to the Baccalaureate Service inside Belk the evening before crossing the Commencement stage.

Belk hasn’t undergone considerable renovations since it was built. Because of the age of the building, the sound system, facilities, rigging system and HVAC system all need upgrading.

The generous David Belk Cannon Foundation gift will provide much of the funding for the upgrades. The gift, along with other donations, will make it possible for Belk to receive new flooring, new seating, expanded restrooms, a renovated lobby, new rigging, enhancements to the performance area, lighting upgrades and more.

These changes will revive a place that has meant so much to those who have entered its doors.

President Staton remembers Belk Auditorium as one of the College’s newest buildings when he arrived on campus as a student in 1964.

“We are very grateful to the David Belk Cannon Foundation for providing this significant gift that will enable us to renovate the main auditorium and lobby of Belk Auditorium,” Staton said. “This project would not be possible without the Foundation’s assistance.”

The project is scheduled to begin by Dec. 31, 2020.

The cost to renovate Belk Auditorium is estimated at $3.2 million. The David Belk Cannon Foundation has asked the College to use the gift to inspire alumni and friends to contribute to the renovations. The Foundation has challenged the College to raise an additional $500,000 toward the project.

Please consider supporting the renovations to “the front door of the College” by making a gift today. For more information on how you can support PC, please contact the Vice President of Advancement Jacki Berkshire at 864-833- 8006 or jberkshire@presby.edu

The philanthropic legacy of many of the Belk department store family members is prevalent across generations of the PC family. Former PC trustee Jack Kuhne ’66, whose son Will currently serves on the PC Board of Trustees, served as president of Belk-Simpson department stores.

Bill Matthews ’62 served in leadership at Belk-Matthews department stores, and his father, Henry Belk Matthews, served as a PC trustee in the 1960s. Bill’s youngest son, Carson, graduated from PC in 1996. Bill’s oldest son, Mac ’91, and daughter-in-law, Stacy ’93, have two children currently attending PC.

Will Kuhne introduced Gene Matthews to President Staton. Bill and Mac were instrumental in efforts to cultivate that relationship on behalf of their alma mater.