WINGATE — A new $1 million grant from The Leon Levine Foundation will help Wingate University improve college access in rural eastern Union County and neighboring counties.
The grant, to be disbursed over five years, will create a comprehensive support system for students from eighth grade through postcollege employment.
“This integrated approach addresses the ‘leaky pipeline’ that disproportionately impacts first-generation students and those from economically disadvantaged areas,” says Kacey Grantham, Wingate’s senior vice president of career pathways.
The grant will help expand successful college-access programs, boost student-support efforts for underrepresented populations, and implement more career-focused programs. The primary initiatives covered by the Levine grant fall under three main topic areas: access, attainment and career placement.
The University will use grant money to expand the successful UC Guarantee and Wayfind programs to neighboring counties (access); implement targeted retention programs for at-risk students (attainment); and increase the number of experiential-learning and networking opportunities and mentorship programs (career placement). Many of these programs will be designed for low-income and first-generation students.
Over the years, The Leon Levine Foundation has given millions of dollars to Wingate University. Because of the foundation’s ongoing support, the University established the Levine College of Health Sciences in 2009 and The Leon Levine Foundation Endowed Scholarship in 2003.
The latest gift will enable the University to increase staffing levels and develop an end-to-end, multiyear support system for students from vulnerable populations, of which Wingate enrolls a high percentage. In the 2024-25 academic year, 42 percent of Wingate students were eligible for Pell Grants and 46 percent were among the first generation in their families to attend college.
“Our college-access programs have proved to be game-changing for students,” says Dr. Heather Miller, senior vice president and chief of staff at Wingate. “With The Leon Levine Foundation’s generous gift, we will be able to make college a reality for more students who might otherwise not get the chance to earn a degree that puts them on a path to earning a meaningful wage.”
With the grant, Wingate will be able to enhance the work it has done to help the nonprofit myFutureNC reach its goal of having 2 million 25- to 44-year-old North Carolinians hold an industry-valued credential or postsecondary degree by 2030. In 2022, the University helped myFutureNC, South Piedmont Community College, Union County Public Schools and other community partners set up Our Future in Unison, a college-readiness program that operates in Union and Anson counties.
Our Future in UNiSON has held events designed to help parents fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and to provide valuable higher-education and career information and resources to the Latino community. In addition, through a partnership between UNiSON and The Academy of Goal Achievers, Wingate University awarded $1.15 million in scholarships in 2024 alone.
Senemeht Olatunji, regional impact manager with myFutureNC, says the TLLF grant will only strengthen that effort.
“This grant empowers us to keep building talent pipelines, expanding access to postsecondary education, and developing long-term strategies to reduce the cycle of generational poverty,” she says. “This work is directly aligned with North Carolina’s goal to ensure that 2 million residents hold a high-quality credential or postsecondary degree by 2030. Together, we’re reshaping what’s possible when communities work in unison.”
