Tobacco Industry Sponsorships: RJR

R.J. Reynolds Foundation Funds $1.25 Million Reynolds American Endowments at WSSU 

Winston-Salem, N.C., Nov. 2, 2005 – Providing a major boost to the current Capital Campaign for Winston-Salem State University (WSSU), the R.J. Reynolds Foundation will contribute $1.25 million to endow a professorship and a new scholarship fund.

“These major grants by the R.J. Reynolds Foundation, which is supported by Reynolds American Inc. and its major subsidiary, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, reflect a relationship between business and higher education that continues to benefit the entire community,” said Steve Strawsburg, president of the Foundation. “We are very proud to establish this endowment with WSSU.”

Commenting on the contribution, Susan Ivey, Reynolds American Inc. CEO and president said, “These endowments continue to demonstrate our commitment to Winston-Salem State and acknowledge the valuable contribution the university makes to our region. Our contribution and the success of the university’s capital campaign will help ensure that Winston-Salem State continues to be a cornerstone of higher learning in our community and the state,” she said.

In accepting the contribution, WSSU Chancellor Harold L. Martin, Sr. said, “For more than a century, WSSU has counted R.J. Reynolds as a good friend and as a partner. This Foundation’s gift is generous not only in its size, but also in its timeliness. Gifts such as this, early in the campaign, demonstrate confidence, and we are very grateful.

“This gift will go a long way toward enabling the university to attract and retain exceptional faculty, as well as to prepare students for lives of personal and professional success. The grant helps us respond directly to the needs of the city, state and region,” Martin said.

Because WSSU is designated as a “Focused Growth Institution” by the University of North Carolina system, the R.J. Reynolds Foundation funds for the endowed professorship are eligible to be matched by the system’s Board of Governors’ Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund.

WSSU also said the scholarship fund endowed by R.J. Reynolds will be used to attract top high school graduates by paying full tuition, fees, books, room and board.

Winston-Salem State University, a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina, is a public university founded in 1892 in Winston-Salem. WSSU is a historically black university that today is a recognized regional institution offering baccalaureate and graduate programs to a diverse student population. U.S. News and World Report has ranked the university among Top Public Southern Comprehensive Colleges -- Bachelor’s Category for the last five years (2002-2006). WSSU currently offers more than 40 baccalaureate and seven master's degree programs to a student population of more than 5,500. For more information, visit www.wssu.edu.

The R.J. Reynolds Foundation administers charitable and educational-giving programs on behalf of Reynolds American Inc., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and its employees.

R.J. Reynolds, a subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc., is the second-largest tobacco company in the United States, manufacturing about one of every three cigarettes sold in the country. The company’s brands include five of the 10 best-selling U.S. cigarette brands: Camel, Kool, Winston, Salem and Doral. For more information, visit www.rjrt.com.

[Source: Reynolds America. Accessed: Apr 11 06]

 
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company donates property to Piedmont Triad Research Park

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Dec. 16, 2005 — R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (R.J. Reynolds) and Piedmont Triad Research Park (PTRP) today announced that R.J. Reynolds has completed the donation of 16 acres of property in downtown Winston-Salem to PTRP. The grant includes 10 acres that R.J. Reynolds originally agreed to donate in 2002 as well as six additional acres of buildings and property.

The land being donated includes the original agreed-upon donation located on Vine Street, between Fourth and Seventh Streets, including two buildings, as well as a company parking lot located on the corner of Seventh and Linden Streets. The six-acre additional donation includes a building on the corner of Fifth Street and Patterson Avenue, as well as two company parking lots located on Seventh Street and Patterson Avenue. The donated property is currently not used by the company.

The assessed value of the property is $12.4 million.

“R.J. Reynolds has long been committed to local economic development,” said Susan Ivey, chairman and chief executive officer of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and chief executive officer of Reynolds American Inc. “This donation will allow PTRP to move closer to realizing its vision of creating a vibrant life-sciences research and product development complex in downtown Winston-Salem, providing additional job opportunities and increasing our local economic base.”

R.J. Reynolds has also committed to donate to PTRP an additional 22 acres of land and property downtown at a future date to be determined. These properties are currently in use by R.J. Reynolds. A date for the future donation will be determined based on PTRP’s needs for further expansion, as well as the operational needs of R.J. Reynolds.

The company’s downtown headquarters complex is not included the donations.

“This significant gift is a tremendous boost to the long-term development of the Park,” said Dr. Christopher H. Price, executive director of PTRP. “We appreciate the generosity of R.J. Reynolds in giving back to the community by providing PTRP assets on which to grow the Park and to attract new businesses into our area. We will now begin the process of formal studies of the buildings and associated land to determine the potential utility of the property within the Master Plan of the Park.”

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, an indirect subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI), is the second-largest tobacco company in the United States, manufacturing about one of every three cigarettes sold in the country. The company’s brands include five of the 10 best-selling U.S. cigarette brands: Camel, Kool, Winston, Salem and Doral. For more information, visit www.RJRT.com.

[Source: Reynolds America. Accessed: Apr 11 06]