Richardson grew up in the Spring Hope, N.C., home with no running water, no electricity, limited transportation and no access to health care. Two framed tobacco leaves, a gift from his son-in-law, hang above the photo as a reminder of Richardson’s youth spent working the tobacco fields.
“See that house?” Richardson asks, pointing from his seat at the polished conference table to the photo that hangs by the door. “Think about the miles I’ve traveled from that house to being able to make a significant gift to Wofford.”
It’s almost unbelievable, but it also explains what’s at the heart of Richardson’s $150 million contribution to the Wofford College endowment.
The gift has four parts
2 Another bucket funds internship, research, entrepreneurial and study abroad experiences. Richardson values learning and doing, but these high-impact experiences would have been out of his reach as a student. Now students who have to work all summer — either to help support their families or to save money for their next tuition payment — can participate in these opportunities that lead to success after college.
4 To Richardson, one of the most meaningful pieces of the gift is a fund to raise the minimum wage on campus to $15 per hour. Richardson hates traditional corporate organizational charts that show a CEO alone at the top with increasing circles and branches cascading downward so the hourly workers are clustered together along the bottom.
“Org charts were everywhere at Canteen,” says Richardson of the vending machine corporation. In a Chicago hotel at a corporate meeting, Richardson had more than his fill of the pieces of paper floating around showing the hierarchical structure. “When it was my time to speak, I did this,” he says, turning a hand-drawn example on the table before him upside down. He circled the row of hourly workers that are now at the top. “This is how we sink or swim.”
Richardson worked with Wofford President Nayef Samhat on the specifics of the $150 million gift that’s based in student support, meets critical needs at the college and has special meaning for Richardson.
“Anything you give is such a personal thing. It is to me,” says Richardson. “I give because I think it’s the thing to do. Why wouldn’t I do that? Wofford is so important to me.”
Through the years, Richardson has credited Bob Prevatte and his Wofford College education with tipping the scales in his favor. In the coming years, this endowment gift will do that for hundreds of Wofford students each year.
“This is a significant amount of money for our family, but without Wofford, I wouldn’t have come to Spartanburg. I wouldn’t have married Rosalind. My life would have been so different,” Richardson says.
And where would Wofford be without Richardson?
Richardson can’t remember his first gift to the college. “It was likely to the Terrier Club,” he says. Giving to the college has been a part of the fabric of his life since he graduated. Now Richardson’s total lifetime giving to the college exceeds $262.6 million. Since 1992, 30 Richardson Family Scholars have Richardson to thank for their fully funded college experiences. Four campus buildings and a pavilion in the Stewart H. Johnson Greek Village bear the Richardson name, and Richardson has made major contributions to at least seven additional capital projects over the years, including a substantial investment in college lighting and safety infrastructure in 2018. He’s served on the college’s board of trustees for more than four decades, and his giving has inspired generations of alumni to show their gratitude for their Wofford experience by becoming loyal donors.
Richardson remains confident in the future of Wofford College and in the good that Wofford graduates contribute to the world.
“I don’t know what they’re going to do once they graduate, but I’m sure they’re going to do well,” he says.
After all, he did.
- Enrolls at Wofford College; joins the football team (1954).
- Becomes a resident assistant (1956).
- Serves as president of the Inter-Fraternity Council (1958).
- Becomes captain of the Terrier football team (1958).
- Meets with college leaders about making his first major financial commitment to the college, a need-based scholarship for a student-athlete on the football team (1960).
- Serves as president of the Terrier Club (1976).
- Begins service on the college’s Board of Trustees (1978-1990).
- Takes first major postgraduate leadership role in helping secure funding for the Campus Life Building project (1979).
- Accepts selection to Wofford’s All-Time Football Team as a receiver (1983).
- Makes gift to Wightman Residence Hall renovation (1985).
- Establishes the Richardson Family Scholarship (1988).
- Receives honorary Doctor of Humanities from Wofford (1991).
- Accepts reelection to the college’s Board of Trustees (1992-2003).
- Inspires preparation for Wofford to become the summer training camp home of the Carolina Panthers; contributes to the Richardson Physical Activities Building project (1993).
- Brings Carolina Panthers to Wofford and Spartanburg for training camp (1995).
- Gives to the Roger Milliken Science Center addition (2001).
- Contributes to establish the Martha Cloud Chapman Gallery in the Campus Life Building (2005).
- Establishes the Jerry Richardson Endowed Football Scholarship Fund (2006).
- Begins final 12-year term on the college’s Board of Trustees (2005-2017).
- Funds renovation of the Richardson Physical Activities Building (2008).
- Donates to the Joe E. Taylor Athletic Center project (2009).
- Donates to the Provost’s Home/Kilgo-Clinkscales House renovation (2010).
- Has his college jersey, No. 51, retired during a ceremony on campus (2011).
- Makes enhancements to the spectator area for Carolina Panthers training camp overlooking the practice fields (2015).
- Funds construction of the Richardson Family Pavilion in the Stewart H. Johnson Greek Village (2016).
- Named trustee emeritus (2017).
- Funds construction of the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts (2017).
- Funds construction of the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (2017).
- Funds enhancements to the Richardson Physical Activities Building (2018).
- Funds campus lighting and safety infrastructure (2018).
- Funds construction of Jerome Johnson Richardson Hall (2019).
- Makes $150 million gift to the endowment (2021).
with $150 million endowment gift
“FORWOFFORD” CAMPAIGN
TOTAL EXCEEDS A QUARTER
OF A BILLION DOLLARS
Jerome J. Richardson ’59 has changed the game again — this time with a gift of $150 million to the Wofford College endowment.
Richardson’s total contributions to the current ForWofford comprehensive campaign now total $257.3 million, making his total campaign gift the largest recorded to a national liberal arts college and among the top gifts ever to any college or university in the United States. Richardson’s lifetime giving to Wofford College now exceeds $262.6 million.
The $150 million endowment gift will be divided into four funds, with the largest being the scholarship fund:
Jerome J. Richardson 2021 Endowed Scholarship Fund
Interest from this fund will fill needbased gaps in financial aid across all classes of students. Need is based on a family’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as determined by annual aid applications such as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the College Board CSS Profile. Only students with unmet need will qualify for this enhancement.
Jerome J. Richardson Endowed Experiential Learning Fund
Proceeds from this endowment will fund off-campus study opportunities, student and faculty research, internships and entrepreneurial learning opportunities. The fund is designed to give preference to students with financial need.
Jerome J. Richardson Endowed Staff Support Fund
During the first five years of this fund, endowment proceeds will be used to help the college transition the base hourly wages of employees of the college to $15 per hour. The fund boosts salaries immediately and gives the college five years to budget the cost of alleviating wage compression as it transitions to this base hourly wage. Approximately 70 employees will benefit from the endowed staff support fund. Once the wage increases have been absorbed into the college’s budget, the remaining principal and income of the fund will be transferred to the Jerome J. Richardson Endowed Experiential Learning Fund.
Jerome J. Richardson Endowed Buildings Support Fund
Proceeds from this endowed fund will be used for the maintenance, repair and improvement of Richardson buildings: the Richardson Physical Activities Building, the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts, the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, the Jerome Johnson Richardson Hall and the Richardson Family Pavilion. This gift ensures that facilities that carry the Richardson name will always be maintained to a superior standard, also alleviating pressure on the college’s operating budget.
“These endowed funds will play a crucial role in making a Wofford education affordable and accessible for generations of students while helping the college to extend its support and appreciation for staff members who contribute to the Wofford experience,” says Samhat. “Wofford College has a reputation for supporting student success. Since the college was founded in 1854, faculty and staff have used the resources available to them to mentor, advise and inspire students such as Jerry Richardson. Now, because of Mr. Richardson, the full Wofford College experience will be available to even more students, especially those impeded by financial barriers.”
Jerry and Rosalind Sallenger Richardson have contributed to 14 capital projects on Wofford’s campus since 1979, including three major buildings during the current comprehensive campaign, which launched publicly in October 2018: the 3,400-seat Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts and Jerome Johnson Richardson Hall, a 150-bed residence hall that opened in the fall of 2020. Their other philanthropic focus at Wofford has been the Richardson Family Scholarship, which provides a full four-year scholarship to one student in each class. The scholarship includes books, a laptop, paid internships and a monthlong study abroad experience.
Richardson many times has credited his Wofford College career with helping him succeed in business and in the NFL.
“Coming to Wofford in 1954 as an 18-year-old with a partial scholarship was a turning point in my life,” Richardson says. “It is difficult to put into words how grateful I am for that opportunity and how proud I am of the tremendous progress the college has made since then. My hope is that many more young people will now be able to aim high regardless of their background or financial means.”
Richardson was named an Associated Press Little America selection in 1957 and 1958 and still holds three records as a wide receiver for the Terrier football team. He still calls being elected team captain in 1958 as one of his greatest lifetime honors. In 1983, he was chosen to Wofford’s All-Time Football team as a receiver. The college retired his jersey, No. 51, in 2011.
As a student, Richardson was a member of Kappa Alpha Order, president of the Inter-Fraternity Council and a member of Blue Key National Honor Fraternity and Scabbard and Blade military fraternity. He was recruited during college to play professional football, but he was determined to finish his degree and complete his college football career with the Terriers. After graduation, he was drafted in the 13th round by the defending world champion Colts. Richardson played two seasons in the NFL, earning Colt Rookie of the Year honors in 1959 and catching a touchdown pass in the 1959 championship game from Johnny Unitas.
Richardson then embarked on a successful business career with Wofford teammate and Terrier quarterback Charlie Bradshaw ’59. From headquarters in Spartanburg, he and Bradshaw co-founded Spartan Foods, which was the first franchisee of Hardee’s. Richardson later was the CEO of Flagstar, which was the sixth largest food service company in the nation.
On Oct. 26, 1993, Richardson became the first former NFL player since George Halas to become an owner when the Carolinas were unanimously awarded the NFL’s 29th franchise. The Carolina Panthers began play in 1995 and reached the NFC championship game in the 1996 season. The Panthers won NFC championships in 2003 and 2015, advancing to Super Bowls XXXVIII and 50.
Richardson is the only person to be inducted into both the North Carolina and South Carolina Business and Athletic Halls of Fame.
Richardson is married to his college sweetheart, Rosalind Sallenger Richardson. They have been lifelong residents of the Carolinas and have two children, Mark Richardson and Ashley Richardson Allen; their son Jon Richardson died in 2013. Grandson Johnson Richardson ’10 played football for Wofford, and granddaughter Rose Richardson Skibek ’13 was a student-athlete on the volleyball team.
“Mr. Richardson has always been and continues to be a gamechanger,” says Samhat. “We are overwhelmingly appreciative that he chose Wofford back in 1954 and that he has continued to support our students and our college’s mission.”
By Jo Ann Mitchell Brasington ’89