March 2, 2009
Each month, the NCCU Department of Athletics will recognize one of its dedicated supporters and generous contributors with the naming of the NCCU Athletics "Donor of the Month."
The NCCU Athletics Donor of the Month for March 2009 is George Hamilton, a 1977 graduate of NCCU and President of Dow Coating Solutions. Here is what he had to say in response to a few questions about giving to NCCU Athletics:
1) Why do you contribute to/support NCCU Athletics?
"I support NCCU Athletics because it is my responsibility to give back to the University that contributed greatly in preparing me for success. Why athletics? Because athletic scholarships enable many under served students to get an education and prepare for their future success. Additionally, the athletic programs and athletes serve as a source of pride and school spirit for students, alumni, faculty and the greater Durham community."
2) Why do you think it is important that others contribute/support NCCU Athletics?
"I would encourage others to support NCCU Athletics because NCCU Athletics serve as a key element of the "Brand" of the University. Investing in this brand helps support the entire University and it's ability to draw talented students and additional funding."
Best regards.
George Hamilton
George R. Hamilton is President of Dow Coating Solutions, a global business unit of The Dow Chemical Company. Mr. Hamilton is responsible for the profit and loss, global business strategy and organizational health of Dow Coating Solutions, and also leads the Dow Coatings Leadership Team.
Hamilton joined The Dow Chemical Company in 1977 as a seller of plastics to the automotive industry and has held a variety of positions in sales, marketing, application development and business operations during his 32 years with the company. Prior to joining Dow Coating Solutions in 2007, Hamilton served as President of Dow Automotive.
Hamilton is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), The Executive Leadership Council and is an Honorary Committee Member of International Federation of Automotive Engineering Societies (FISITA). He also serves on the Boards of National Paint and Coatings Association in Washington, D.C., and the Board of Trustees for North Carolina Central University. He also serves on Dow's Retirement Board.
Hamilton has been recognized for his contributions by the YMCA Minority Achiever Awards, Crain's Detroit Minority All-Star Award and Crain's Annual Who's Who In Detroit in 2005. He was also named to Black Enterprise Magazine's 75 Most Powerful African Americans in Corporate America list in 2005 and the top 100 list in 2009.
Hamilton and his wife Jill reside in Rochester, Michigan and have three children. He and Jill recently established a $1 million endowment at his alma mater, NCCU. He enjoys mentoring youth, motivational speaking, cars, golf, professional basketball, college football and skiing. He holds a B.S. in business administration from North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C., an Executive MBA from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and is a Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
