Davidson County Community College will award a posthumous honorary degree May 14 during its 47th annual commencement ceremony.
The Davidson County Community College Board of Trustees voted to grant an honorary degree to the late George Allen Mebane IV, the Davie County resident and philanthropist who died in 2008.
ěAllen Mebane was the driving force behind incredible progress in Davie County, both as a business leader and through the Mebane Charitable Foundation,î said Dr. Mary E. Rittling, DCCC president.
ěMr. Mebaneís vision and incredible generosity lives on through his foundation and through his wife, Marianne, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for all they have done for Davie County and DCCC.î
The Mebane Charitable Foundation, which Mebane formed in 1992, is known for its support of education and its holistic approach to finding solutions. The foundation recently started a new scholarship at DCCC that will benefit Davie County students.
In addition to his work with the foundation, Mebane was a prominent executive in the textile industry. He was president and CEO of Throwing Corporation of America; co-founder, president and CEO of Universal Textured Yarns; and co-founder and executive of Unifi Inc., which touted sales in excess of $1.5 billion, becoming the largest producer and processer of textured yarns in the world with plants in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and Brazil.
Mebane will be the sixth community leader to receive an honorary degree from DCCC.
DCCCís 2011 commencement will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 14, in front of the Mendenhall Building on the Davidson Campus. Approximately 800 candidates for graduation are eligible to receive degrees, diplomas and certificates. Should there be inclement weather, the ceremony will be held at Richard Childress Racing in Welcome.