Supporting Sustainability in Business

The Center for Sustainable Enterprise at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School has received an estate gift valued at $11 million from the late Charles S. Ackerman (BSBA ’55).

The center provides education, research, outreach and best practices to accelerate progress in social and environmental sustainability using profitable business solutions.

It will be renamed in his honor: the Ackerman Center for Excellence in Sustainability (ACES).

The gift supports the center’s space in the new building that expands and enhances the UNC Kenan-Flagler campus. The new building will meet LEED Gold standards as a baseline for sustainability with the goal of achieving LEED platinum. Groundbreaking is scheduled for September 2022, with the opening planned for fall 2024.

The endowed gift also will support:

• MBA fellowships
• Expanded offerings in the Undergraduate Business Program
• Increased research capacity by supporting PhD students as Sustainability Fellows
• Center operations and additional staff members

“For over 20 years, our center has empowered students, faculty and business leaders to identify, create and deliver innovative, profitable business solutions while improving social equity and environmental integrity,” said Doug Shackelford, dean of UNC Kenan-Flagler. “This is a rare and transformational gift that will have tremendous impact on our students’ lives and the organizations where they work.”

This gift counts toward the Campaign for Carolina. The most ambitious fundraising campaign in the University’s history, the Campaign for Carolina launched in October 2017 with a goal to raise $4.25 billion by Dec. 31, 2022.

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