North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine recently received a $20 million gift to help establish a new veterinary hospital from the R.B. Terry Jr. Charitable Foundation.

The gift will support the establishment of the $40 million Randall B. Terry Jr. Companion Animal Medical Center during the next decade.

Terry, who died in May 2004, was the publisher of the High Point Enterprise and co-owner of International Home Furnishing Center in High Point, N.C. He became a friend of the college after his Golden Retrievers received treatment at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

"The commitment Randall Terry has shown to N.C. State over the years is a reflection of the power of the human-animal bond," said Dr. Oscar Fletcher, past dean and an acquaintance of Terry's.

Terry served two terms as president of the North Carolina Veterinary Medicine Foundation and chaired the first campaign for the college as part of the Campaign for N.C. State Students. In 2000, he established a challenge gift to generate private funds for the new hospital and for student scholarships.

Scheduled to be operational by 2009, the 122,000-square-foot medical center will roughly triple the size of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital. The new hospital will offer cutting-edge technologies for imaging, cardiac care, cancer treatment, internal medicine, and surgery.

The existing small animal component of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital will become a center for outpatient treatment and animal wellness.