$10 million new gift to school from Howard “Smoky” Bissell and Margaret Bissell

Lees-McRae College has secured the largest donation in its history, a $10 million gift from Charlotte philanthropists Howard “Smoky” Bissell and Margaret Bissell to build a new townhouse village that will house both students and employees.

The project comes as many small colleges confront financial strain and enrollment declines, but Lees-McRae is planning for growth, with projections that its Fall 2026 incoming class will be the largest in school history.

The eight-building development will add 144 student beds and four units reserved for college employees, and will be centrally located between North Campus, South Campus, and the Fred I. Dickerson Athletic Complex, with access to campus bicycle and walking trails. Construction is set to begin after the 2026 graduation and is scheduled to be completed by the Fall 2027 semester.

President Lee King said high-quality housing is now a critical factor in both student recruitment and the college’s ability to attract and retain faculty and staff, calling the Bissells’ support “a gift that accelerates the upward trajectory of Lees-McRae.”

The initiative is the first new construction on campus since the May School of Natural and Health Sciences opened in 2014 and follows two other major housing-related investments since 2022, underscoring a strategy to expand and modernize on-campus living rather than scaling back.

The Bissells, longtime leaders in real estate and education, were moved to act after hearing King outline the college’s hands-on educational model and growth strategy at a recent event.

Howard “Smoky” Bissell, a Charlotte developer known for Ballantyne Corporate Park, said he was struck by the alignment between leadership and trustees at Lees-McRae, remarking that he did not know of another institution “where the leadership has a plan, they have a Board that is committed to it, and everybody is on the same page.”