University of North Carolina Wilmington announced Friday the receipt of a $2.5 million gift – one of the largest in the school’s history, officials said.

The endowment gift comes from the family of the late Bill and Barbara Dobo.

Chancellor Gary Miller made the announcement during a UNCW trustees meeting Friday morning, said Eddie Stuart, vice chancellor for university advancement.

Alumnus Gabriel William “Bill” Dobo, who died in June, and his late wife Barbara “Barby” Beckwith Dobo were active leaders in the Wilmington community for many years. The couple shared a love of music and theater; Beckwith Recital Hall in UNCW’s Cultural Arts Building is named in Barby Dobo’s honor.

Stuart said that income from the endowment gift will be used by UNCW to address areas of greatest need.

“Our top priority is and has been merit scholarships to attract the best and brightest students,” he said. “We also need diversity scholarships to help us create a rich environment of students from different backgrounds. Then we need funding for such things as the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship as well as applied learning initiatives for students.

“All of our priorities are related to providing support for our students,” he added.

Stuart said he had the opportunity to get to know the Dobo family over the years.

“[Bill Dobo] shared the university’s commitment to the lifelong journey of learning, the love of place and the power of ideas and innovation,” Stuart said. “He and Barby were great friends of the university, and we miss them very much. Thanks to their philanthropic legacy, generations of students and faculty will benefit from their love of UNCW."

Dobo Hall, a science building on campus, is named for the couple as well as for Bill’s late brother Robert “Bob” Dobo Sr., a UNCW graduate who died in 2009, and his late wife Dorothy “Dot” Dobo.

Bill, a successful business owner and inventor who developed an innovative gem-cutting machine, was also interested in science and engineering, according to the university’s news release.

“The two brothers and their wives decided in the late ‘90s to make a charitable remainder trust commitment to UNCW,” Stuart said. “In honor of that commitment the university dedicated Dobo Hall to them. When Bob died, we received the proceeds of [Bob and Dot’s] trust and created the Dobo Endowment. Barby died three years ago, and Bill died this past summer, so that is the reason for this second gift.”

This latest gift, made through a charitable remainder trust, will be added to the previously established Dobo Endowment, created with an initial $2.5 million contribution from Bob and Dot Dobo. The Dobo Endowment for UNCW, now valued at about $5 million, will generate about $250,000 a year for the university's greatest needs in perpetuity, Stuart said.

“The Dobos have been partners with UNCW for years, and this endowment will make a huge difference for an institution like ours,” he said.