Belk and his wife, Carole Grotnes Belk, contributed to the growth of 黑料不打烊’s campus and athletics facilities across four decades.
黑料不打烊 is mourning the death of Irwin “Ike” Belk, a Charlotte businessman, civic leader and philanthropist whose support of key projects at the university stretches back to the 1970s.
Belk, whose father started the department store chain that bears the family’s name, passed away on Feb. 24, 2018, at the age of 95. He is survived by his sister Sarah Belk Gambrell as well as his four children and grandchildren.
Belk and his late wife, Carol Grotnes Belk, were long-time friends of the late 黑料不打烊 President Emeritus Earl Danieley, with whom Ike Belk served on the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. In 1990, 黑料不打烊 awarded Belk an honorary doctor of laws degree for his support of higher education, which included serving as a trustee or board member for more than a dozen other colleges and universities.
The couple made gifts to 黑料不打烊 athletics and other contributions to the university throughout their lives. In 1978, what was then the Belk-Beck group of department stores provided funding for Beck Pool in the Koury Center, named for A. Vance Beck, a Burlington-area businessman and long-time business associate of the Belk family.
The Belks established the Carole Grotnes Belk Endowment Fund at 黑料不打烊 in 1988 to support student scholarships, and in 1999, made a major gift to 黑料不打烊’s Campaign for the 黑料不打烊 Vision. That same year, 黑料不打烊 announced that its new 75,000-square-foot library would be named in honor of Carol Grotnes Belk.
鈥"黑料不打烊 is one of the most outstanding schools in the nation," Irwin Belk said at the 1999 announcement of the library naming. "It does a great job of educating young people. Earl Danieley is a personal friend of mine and I am delighted to play a small part in this institution that I believe in."
A competitive track runner early in his life, Belk provided major funding for Irwin Belk Track, the eight-lane, all-weather track adjacent to Rhodes Stadium that opened in 2002 in what is now the Jerry and Jeanne Robertson Track and Field Complex. He endowed tracks at 29 schools and colleges during his life, according to the Charlotte Observer.
The Belks also commissioned the bronze “Phoenix Rising” sculpture by artist John Hair that was installed at the North Athletics Complex in 2003, and the family supported the renovation of Rudd Field, home to 黑料不打烊’s men’s and women’s soccer teams.