October 15, 2004
O. Wayne Rollins Foundation endows urban entomology chair
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The foundation established by the late head of pest control company Orkin Inc. is donating $1.5 million to further pest control research in Purdue University's Department of Entomology.
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The funding will support the O. Wayne Rollins/Orkin Endowed Chair in Urban Entomology to fund the work of a scientist, who will be selected later. The O. Wayne Rollins Foundation, created in 1967, continues the mission of the man who founded Orkin's parent company. The foundation's goal is to support medical research and public health issues at colleges and universities. The gift will result in the creation of two chairs at Purdue through a matching funds endowment from another donor.
"Mr. Rollins was a visionary in building his business and in leaving a legacy that has positive effects on many people," said Purdue President Martin C. Jischke who announced the gift today (Friday, Oct. 15). "His family is furthering this tradition. We especially appreciate the O. Wayne Rollins Foundation's and his grandson Glen's recognition of our entomology department's leading role in both research and outreach. This support will measurably help curtail the economic losses and illnesses that result from infestations of insects and other pests."
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Glen Rollins, current Orkin president and chief operating officer who joined the company full time in 1990, sponsored the request to the foundation on Purdue's behalf. He is the third generation of the Rollins family involved with the company and the foundation, and began his career as a 14-year-old summer termite technician. As an adult, he has been a salesman, branch manager, regional manager, division vice president and executive vice president before assuming his current duties.
"My grandfather cared about people and how insects could negatively impact their lives and health," said Rollins, who lives in Atlanta where Orkin and its parent company Rollins Inc. are based. "We hope that through his foundation we can promote innovations in the pest control industry. We know that Purdue University has long been one of the places on the cutting edge of this work.
"We are pleased to further our relationship with Purdue as an educational partner by adding the O. Wayne Rollins/Orkin Chair of Urban Entomology."
The new endowed chair is the first one established in Purdue's Department of Entomology. The funding will strengthen ties with the pest control industry and underscores Purdue's commitment to address pest control research and development priorities, said department head Steve Yaninek.
"Urban pest control is one of the areas where we've had a longstanding relationship with industry," he said. "This interaction is an important way to develop new tools, tactics and technologies that are relevant to this industry. Through forward-looking research, we can find ways of applying these advancements to real problems.
"The O. Wayne Rollins/Orkin chair gives us the opportunity to move research into the real world to aid in preventing the destruction and disease caused by insects and other pests."
The entomology department faculty conducts research and provides community education and advice concerning insects and other pests that damage structures and landscaping and infest food and food processing facilities. Much of this work is linked with the department's Center for Urban and Industrial Pest Management, which was established in the early 1990s to specifically address the pest control industry's needs.
Purdue has a long association with the pest control industry. The university, which founded its entomology department in 1912, launched its Pest Control Conference in 1936. The meeting offers training in pest control marketing and management, as well as updates on research, regulatory status, product development and new environmentally safe pest control methods.
The Purdue scientist funded by the O. Wayne Rollins/Orkin donation will work with industry as a specialist in the area of urban entomology research aimed at developing new methods of dealing with pests.
The O. Wayne Rollins Foundation contribution enables the entomology department to fund another chair through the Bindley Chair Challenge, which will match the $1.5 million donation.
William Bindley, who graduated from Purdue with a bachelor's degree in industrial economics in 1962, gave $52 million to the university, including $22.5 million to be used to match donations given to establish 15 endowed chairs at Purdue's West Lafayette campus. A Terre Haute, Ind., native, he currently is chairman and CEO of Bindley Capital Partners LLC, a private equity firm located in Indianapolis and Naples, Fla.
O. Wayne Rollins began his business in the 1940s when he built a radio station in Radford, Va. The company grew into a communications conglomerate that included stations spread north through the state of Delaware.
In 1964, the elder Rollins and his brother, John, purchased Orkin Exterminating, a company founded in 1901 by 14-year-old Latvian immigrant Otto Orkin. O. Wayne Rollins died in 1991. His son, who is Glen's father, Gary Rollins, is currently chairman of Orkin's board.
With revenue in excess of $670 million, Orkin is traded on the New York Stock Exchange as part of Rollins Inc. under the symbol ROL. The pest control firm has almost 8,000 employees in the United States and Canada serving approximately 1.6 million residential and business customers.
Orkin is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on educating the public about pest-borne infectious illnesses. The cooperative effort between the company and the CDC also will provide further knowledge and training for the company's pest control technicians.
The Orkin gift announcement is part of a 10-day celebration that focuses on ways Purdue is improving education and helping the state of Indiana as part of the university's strategic plan and $1.3 billion fund-raising campaign.
Writer: Susan A. Steeves, (765) 496-7481, ssteeves@purdue.edu
Sources: Steve Yaninek, (765) 494-4554, yaninek@purdue.edu
Martha Craft, Rollins public relations, (404) 888-2217,
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722; Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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