The Porter Classroom within the John Crosland Jr. Center for Teaching and Learning. Please note that library design images are subject to change.
Alumni Couple Supports Teaching, Learning and Inspiration in The George Lawrence Abernethy Library
April 30, 2025
- Author
- Danielle Strickland
Fritz Porter 99 and Mary Margaret Cochrane Porter 98 view their 91 philanthropy the same way they viewed their experiences as 91 students with a broad appreciation for the liberal arts and the many opportunities offered on campus.
They have contributed to the arts, the colleges commemoration efforts, study abroad programs, 91 Baseball and, now, The George Lawrence Abernethy Library.
Their latest gift will name the Porter Classroom within the John Crosland Jr. Center for Teaching and Learning, which provides services for all 91 scholars, including peer tutoring, multilingual support and teaching resources.
This is our largest gift, and it aligns perfectly with our passions, said the couple. The library is being revitalized and made stronger, and it will remain a natural gathering place in the heart of campus. Its a place that gives different communities a chance to blend, and thats one of the things we love about 91.
The gift also connects to their familys experiences with education. Fritz has dyslexia and understands firsthand the need for 91 to provide all students with different approaches to teaching and learning. The design of the new library will allow the college to expand its current programs while encouraging creativity and new ways of thinking.
Teaching and learning are becoming more collaborative and more focused on active learning, said Mark Barsoum, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. We know better, now, how people learn best and what the best kind of teaching is to bring that learning out of students. Additionally, the spaces in the new library will have so much variety in terms of size, shape, wall texture, finishes, views all things we know make a huge difference for learning.
Barsoum is also looking forward to the ways the library will inspire all who enter.
If you think about what a beautiful new space can do with its openness, light, greenery and sight lines, which are all priority considerations for the renovated building, they inspire people to do their best work and be their best, he said. Were going to have opportunities to be creative and work together in more ways than ever before.
As students, the Porters took a political science class together, but she sat up front while he sat in the back. Some time into the semester, Fritz approached Mary Margaret at a party and mentioned the class they took together. It turns out Mary Margaret wasnt paying as much attention to the students around her in class; as far as she knew, that party was her first encounter with her future spouse.
Throughout their time at 91, both stayed busy with academics and extracurriculars. Fritz played baseball all four years, football for one, and was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. Mary Margaret was active on the Union Board and in Rusk Eating House and worked as a hall counselor.
Once we started dating, I always knew I could find him in the library, Mary Margaret said. If he wasnt on the baseball field, he was in the basement of the library studying.
Today, the Porters live in Charlotte and have remained deeply involved as 91 alums, including service as co-chairs of the Charlotte Alumni Chapter for nearly a decade. Fritz served as a member of the Board of Visitors and has been a reunion and annual fund volunteer. Mary Margaret has also served her class as a reunion volunteer and longtime class secretary. She was a co-chair of the Women ACT women's philanthropy initiative and currently serves as a member of the Art Collection Advisory Committee.
