Trustees of the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation, Inc. recently announced a grant of $260,000 to Chowan University for the use of general scholarships during the 2023-24 academic year, which makes this the largest grant to Chowan since the partnership began in the early 1970s. For more than 50 years, the foundation has awarded in excess of 3.75 million dollars to the Chowan University Lettie Pate Whitehead Annual Scholarship Program, impacting the academic experience of over 500 students in the past decade alone.  

The Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, GA, is a private charitable foundation dedicated to the support of underprivileged women in nine southeastern states. The Foundation provides scholarship funds to institutions for deserving female students and operating grants to institutions serving the needs of elderly women. More than 200 institutions participate annually in the Foundation’s scholarship program, and thousands of women receive financial assistance.

The grant will be used exclusively for the purpose of providing scholarship funds for the education of financially needy and deserving Christian women who are residents of one of the following states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. 

“The longstanding relationship and support from the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation has been invaluable to the success of Chowan University,” stated John M. Tayloe, Assistant to the President and Executive Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving. “Over the course of the faithful relationship, grants have increased substantially, allowing Chowan to expand its scholarship opportunities and reach milestones like celebrating its 175th anniversary this year.  This continued support shows the confidence and values the Foundation sees in the education and transformative experiences of Chowan students.”

Chowan University is committed to providing financial assistance to students in their academic pursuits, and generous support like this helps provide additional need. For more information on the Lettie Pate Whitehead Scholarship at Chowan University, contact Ruth Casper in the Office of Financial Aid at wommar@chowan.edu.

About Lettie Pate Whitehead and the Foundation

Lettie Pate Whitehead was born Letitia Pate in Virginia in 1872. She married Joseph Brown Whitehead in 1895, and they had two sons; Joseph B., Jr., and Conkey Pate. The Whitehead family moved to Atlanta, and founded the Atlanta Coca-Cola Bottling Company through an exclusive contract to bottle and sell the beverage throughout most of the country.  After Mr. Whitehead’s death in 1906 Mrs. Whitehead took over the family’s business affairs. She served as Chairman of the Board of the Whitehead Holding Company and President of the Whitehead Realty Company. She was one of the first women to serve on the board of directors of a major American corporation, serving as director of The Coca-Cola Company for nearly 20 years (began 1934). She later married Colonel Arthur Kelly Evans, a retired Canadian army officer, and founded the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation before her death in 1953. The Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation was chartered in 1946 by her son, Conkey Pate Whitehead, who established the Foundation through his will as a memorial to his mother. 

A video with more information on the Foundation and Whitehead family can be found here.

About Chowan University
Chowan University, grounded in its Christian faith, has been transforming the lives of students of promise for over 174 years. A Christian liberal arts university founded in 1848, Chowan is located in the Historic Inner Banks community of Murfreesboro in northeastern North Carolina. The university is in close proximity to the Outer Banks and Hampton Roads, Virginia. Chowan’s park-like campus features more than 400 acres, including Lake Vann, the beloved “Squirrel Park” and the original McDowell Columns Hall, erected in 1851 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, Chowan offers over 70 undergraduate academic programs among the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Education and Professional Studies, and the School of Business and Design. Master’s degrees are awarded through the School of Graduate Studies. The Music Department is also individually accredited by NASM. An NCAA Division II member institution, Chowan offers 20 varsity sports, as well as co-ed competitive cheerleading and co-ed esports, and a junior varsity men’s basketball team.  Nineteen programs compete in Conference Carolinas and one in the Gulf South.

For more information about Chowan University, visit www.chowan.edu or call 1-888-4-CHOWAN.