Fayetteville State University honored Felton J. Capel Sr. with a black-tie dinner Saturday night at The Country Club of North Carolina.

More than 100 people attended the event, which celebrated a new endowment called the Felton J. Capel Sr. Distinguished Chair in the Performing and Fine Arts.

'It was really a fantastic evening," Capel said. "It is a tremendous honor to be recognized. Jean and I are so thrilled and wonderfully blessed. We truly feel like the luckiest people in the world."

The purpose of the endowed chair is to attract a distinguished professor who is a renowned scholar and who will play a critical role in the development of a nationally visible and academically sound program in the performing and fine arts.

The endowed chair was made possible by a gift of $500,000. Half of the gift came from the C.D. Spangler Foundation Inc., and the remainder was a matching grant from the state.

The C.D. Spangler Foundation is named after C.D. Spangler, who served as president of the University of North Carolina from 1986 to 1997.

In a press release announcing the endowment, James A. Anderson, chancellor of Fayetteville State, called Capel an "icon and a consummate role model" for FSU students, staff, faculty and alumni.

Capel and his wife, Jean, established the Felton and Jean Capel Scholarship at FSU, a fund that finances $2,000 scholarships for 12 students annually.

The Felton J. Capel Arena on the FSU campus was named in his honor in 1995. A year later, he was inducted in the FSU Sports Hall of Fame.

In November 2000, the University of North Carolina System presented him with its highest honor, the University Award. This past October, he was named Man of the Year by the Moore County Community Foundation.

He said in a telephone interview Monday that he has always had a special relationship with Fayetteville State.

"Its been a great experience," he said. "And I have enjoyed all my time spent on the board and serving in other capacities. They've been like family to me."

Education has always been important to Capel. He said that as a youngster, education inspired him to go out in the world and maximize his opportunities

"I have always been one who believes in the strongest education possible and for people to reach out and achieve their best," he said.

Capel said he has also always stressed hard work, honesty, integrity, courtesy, kindness and being friendly as ways of maximizing a person's potential.

"That's why I am involved," Capel said. "I want to do it for the youngsters. They need to know you can put yourself on top if you work hard, put yourself forward and let people know you are there to help them."

Contact Tom Embrey by e-mail at tembrey@thepilot.com.