PEMBROKE — David Weinstein, former Lumberton mayor and state senator, watched on Friday as a banner dropped to reveal the new name of a building on the campus of The University of North Carolina for which he is credited with securing $29 million in state money to construct.
The David F. Weinstein Health Sciences Building will house UNCP’s undergraduate and graduate Nursing and Social Work departments, professions for which Weinstein admits a soft spot.
“The funding of the Health Science Building is my greatest accomplishment as a legislator,” Weinstein told about 100 people who had gathered under a tent on a sunny and blustery day. “I continue to believe that UNCP is the jewel in the crown of Southeastern North Carolina. This is an honor I will never forget.”
The origins of the Health Science Building began when Weinstein set out to get an optometry school for UNCP. He got a $10 million special appropriation, but when that project failed, he got another $19 million for the Health Sciences Building.
Weinstein said he was reminded of the importance of nurses during a recent bout with a bad back that has him “screaming in pain.”
“… I made a trip to the emergency room. The care I received was terrific,” he said. “I love my nurses. They are angels from heaven and the backbone of the health-care profession.”
Weinstein’s appreciation for the nursing profession began well before that experience. Among other gifts to UNCP, he has established an endowed scholarship for nurses at UNCP and recently met three who had benefitted.
UNCP and Weinstein have a long marriage. He joined the board of trustees in 1992 and served as chairman from 1994 to 96, when he helped push through the university’s name change from Pembroke State University.
Speakers at the dedication ceremony took turns praising Sen. Weinstein.
“Sen. Weinstein has been a monumental game changer for this university,” said UNCP Chancellor Robin Cummings. “David Weinstein recognized the need for trained health care professionals in this region.
“When he went to Raleigh, he went to work for us,” he said. “The result is this building, which is the largest construction project in university history.”
During the ceremony, state Sen. Danny Britt, who represents Robeson County, gave Weinstein the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the state’s highest civiliam award for service. Britt said he hopes to build on what Weinstein did by carving out a $100,000 appropriation to study the expansion of health care programs at UNCP. He also noted the current Senate budget includes a $10 million appropriation for UNCP.
Jeff Frederick, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said Weinstein pushed for positive change at the university.
“David Weinstein has made a monumental impact at this university,” Frederick said. “Nobody ever brought people together like Sen. Weinstein. Thank you for showing us how to take care of each other.”
UNCP board Chairman Don Metzger called Weinstein “an extraordinary champion for this university,”
Omar Torres, vice president of the Student Government Association, said Weinstein epitomizes the saying: “We’re not growing unless we are growing together.
“He put us on a path to growth,” Torres said. “He is a true trailblazer.”
The ceremony was attended by members of Weinstein’s family, including his wife Bobbie; son, Aaron; daughter, Melinda; and nephew, David Gordon. Weinstein ran a clothing store in Lumberton for more than 30 years, and he survived his first wife, Karen.
During the years that Weinstein was associated with the university, enrollment has more than doubled. Not long after he was elected to the state Senate in 1996, he got a special appropriation for the construction of the first new residence hall on campus in 25 years.
Weinstein also worked to get UNCP $57 million of the $2 billion raised through the sale of bonds after voters in a 2000 gave approval in a referendum. The new construction and remodeling of existing buildings that came from the bond changed the face of the university.
During Weinstein’s tenure in Raleigh, from 1997 to 2009, a total of $92 million was funneled by the state to UNCP for construction.
Weinstein also personally contributes to the university — and joked that when Cummings and Vice Chancellor Wendy Lowery called to schedule a lunch date, he told wife Bobbie “here they come,” convinced they would be asking for a donation.
Besides the nursing endowment, he established the Max M. Weinstein Scholarship in History. After the dissolution of Temple Beth-el in Lumberton, Weinstein guided its remaing fund balance to the university.
For his work, UNCP presented Weinstein the Alumni Association’s Special Award of Distinction in 2010.
