William and Grace Dial Endowment

This fund was established in 1999 for the purpose of supporting the Dial Center for Written and Oral Communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. It was named in honor of William and Grace Dial.

William earned his law degree from the University of Florida in 1936. He worked with the law firm Akerman and Palmer after graduation, and rewrote the Florida Banking Code in 1953. After his resignation from the law firm, he became executive vice president of the First National Bank of Orlando and ultimately Chairman of the Board of SunBanks. He was considered an architect of modern-day Orlando, as he helped create the superhighway network that makes Orlando the crossroads of Florida. He passed away in 1999.