Feb. 29, 2008
ROCK HILL, S.C. – A Charlotte, N.C., couple will
donate $1.25 million to Winthrop University to create
a business and trading center within the College of
Business Administration to help prepare students and
area businesses for a global market.
Vivian M. and Larry W. Carroll, both Rock Hill
natives, have spent years working in the financial services
industry. Winthrop officials announced the gift during a
Feb. 29 luncheon and unveiled plans to name its new business
auditorium building the Vivian M. Carroll Hall.
Inside the two-story building located by the college’s home,
Thurmond Building, will be the Carroll Capital Markets
Training and Trading Center.
Winthrop officials praised the Carrolls for providing a significant
gift to the university.
(Pictured Kris Carroll, from left, Pres. Anthony DiGiorgio
and Vivian Carroll)
“The Carrolls’ gift will allow us to use this magnificent
new facility to show how changes in capital markets around
the world come together to influence every economy,” said
President Anthony DiGiorgio. “It helps complete our
strategy of producing future business leaders who have a
21st century blend of strong fundamentals in wealth
management, highly specialized technical trading skills and
a global perspective on the ever-changing world financial
markets.”
Specifically, the Carrolls’ gift will provide initial
funding for electronic trading equipment within the
center and an endowment for operations and future
equipment upgrades, as well as academic and community
educational programming.
The Vivian M. Carroll Hall will contain several
interesting features:
* 195-seat auditorium
* trading room with 20-24
computers, 12-foot electronic ticker board , four large
displays, two television monitors and adjoining conference
room with smart capabilities
* two instructional computer
classrooms
* computer science computer lab
* collaborative learning room for
four to eight students working in groups
Roger Weikle, dean of the business college, said the
Carrolls have created an exciting time for the College of
Business Administration.
The trading center will become an integral part of the
educational experience for the college’s graduate and
undergraduate students. Computers will have software for
simulated trading, deal capture, settlement, portfolio
management and derivatives pricing, as well as access to
Reuters and other databases.
From the freshman to the senior year, Carroll Hall
will permit the business faculty to make assignments to show
how world events interact to influence the value of
companies, currencies, and interest rates, Weikle said.
“These markets have a huge impact on business cycles and
politics,” he added.
The Carrolls’ gift will help the university to
improve its teaching, enhance students’ analytical skills by
giving them opportunities to participate in simulated
trading and enable the college to offer specialized seminars
on economic issues. It also will serve as a data resource
and training center for the local business community,
particularly mid-size companies who may not have access to
this type of information and technology.
Such companies will have the opportunity to use the
computer-equipped classrooms as a “decision support
facility.” With the use of anonymous suggestions and
polling of preferences, groups can quickly and without the
impact of personalities and status reach creative solutions
to difficult problems.
Both of the Carrolls understand the value of a sound
business foundation. Vivian retired from Merrill Lynch in
2001 after spending more than 20 years building a successful
financial planning practice. Larry is president of
Carroll Financial Associates, a Charlotte-based
financial planning and investment management firm.
Vivian graduated from Winthrop in 1973 with a bachelor’s
degree in mathematics. She is currently first vice president
of the Winthrop University Alumni Association Executive
Board.
