William William E. Cole, Sr. has made a $1.5 million gift to SDSU’s College of Business Administration to establish the William E. Cole Sr. CPA Endowed Directorship at the School of Accountancy.

The endowment will be used to establish the William E. Cole Sr. Scholars program for upper division or graduate student support. These scholars, selected by the Director of the School of Accountancy, will receive various student enrichment support based on their academic achievements. They will also have the opportunity to meet with the donor and/or his designee throughout the year.

Cole earned his BS degree in accountancy from SDSU in 1957 and his MBA in 1963. In 1959, he was a a founding partner in the Leaf and Cole Accounting Firm and was a founder and director of Peninsula Bank of San Diego from its inception in 1975. Cole was also a founding director of San Diego Bank and Trust and he is currently president of William E. Cole Accountant APC.

“My education at SDSU has enabled me to achieve a great deal of success both in the banking and accounting industries,” said Cole. “This success has allowed me to give back to SDSU and help provide today’s students with educational opportunities to accomplish their career goals.”

“On behalf of SDSU’s College of Business Administration, we are grateful for Bill’s extremely generous gift,” said Dean Gail Naughton. “This gift will enable us to build innovative new programs that attract the finest future business leaders. We look forward to bestowing the best of this group with the honor of being William E. Cole Sr. scholars.”