The Dalton State Foundation has received a pledge of $2.5 million from the John Willis Mashburn Charitable Foundation.

The money will be used to support Dalton State’s new intercollegiate athletics department and academic building.

Mashburn lived a quiet life with wife Catherine as a Dalton entrepreneur and philanthropist. He died in January 2009. The tenth of 12 children, he came of age during the Great Depression and always valued hard work and frugal living, according to a trustee of the foundation, adding that his charitable trust was formed to advance the endeavors he believed would develop and enhance the community in which he lived.

“We are tremendously gratified by this most generous gift,” said Dalton State president Dr. John Schwenn. “We are proud to partner with the Mashburn family as we work to advance both the academic and athletic programming of Dalton State.”

A portion of the Mashburn gift, which will be paid out over a period of five years, will be used to complete Dalton State’s new science building, groundbreaking for which is scheduled this fall. The remainder of the gift will be used to enhance athletic facilities and endeavors on Dalton State’s campus.

“The Mashburn Foundation is anxious to shine a light on Dalton State,” said a Mashburn Foundation trustee. “We believe supporting the development of intercollegiate athletics at this time will create interest in Dalton State throughout the campus, the community and the region and ultimately help the college develop into the thriving university we all want it to become.”

According to Derek Waugh, Dalton State athletic director, “The Athletic Department’s vision is to take full advantage of all that this institution can become for its student body, its alumni and fans, and the entire community of Dalton and Northwest Georgia.

“We will create campus vibrancy, an extremely dramatic increase in residential enrollment and championship-caliber teams made up of tomorrow’s leaders that will flock to Dalton State and hopefully, eventually, call Dalton their home,” Waugh said. “However, a vision is just that until someone gets behind it, and that is what the Mashburn Foundation has done. We could not be more grateful or humbled by this generous gift, and we hope it will inspire others to escalate this institution and community using intercollegiate athletics as a conduit.”