C of C to get up to $1M donation

A South Carolina entrepreneur now living in Vietnam will donate up to $1 million over the next two years to the College of Charleston for programs in its business school.

Jack Tate, who founded Carolina Baby Superstores, a retail chain he sold to Toys R Us in 2002, is making the donation to help pay for the school's new master of business administration, which is currently in the final approval stages with the state's Commission on Higher Education, and a new program to promote cultural and business understanding between the United States and Vietnam, said Alan Shao, dean of the college's business school.

Tate donated $250,000 this year and will donate another $250,000 in 2011, Shao said. He will contribute an additional $500,000 if the college can match it with cash or in-kind contributions, he said.

The college will use some of the money to launch the Center of Vietnamese Enterprise in the fall, Shao said.

The program will bring Vietnamese students to the college to study language and culture. It also will send College of Charleston undergraduates to Vietnam to study language, culture and business, he said.

That's important because Vietnam has become a thriving manufacturing center, and in some areas, a competitor to China, he said.