Hermosa Philanthropist Donates $2 Million to El Camino College

Hermosa Beach philanthropist Elizabeth Noble has given the El Camino College Foundation $2 million, the largest single gift in its 66-year history. The donation will fund the new Noble Endowed Chair for Business.

“We are privileged to receive Mrs. Noble’s historic contribution, which will benefit El Camino College students for many years,” said El Camino College President Thomas Fallo. “We thank her for this substantial gift, which serves as a model for community colleges throughout the state. This new endowed chair will make a great impact on the lives of students.”

The Noble Endowed Chair for Business will fund a permanent teaching position, even in challenging economic times, via revenue from the endowment, according to a press release from the college. The ECC Foundation will administer the account, with net income paid as an annual charitable grant to the school.

Noble, a dedicated Hermosa Beach philanthropist and wife of well-known humanitarian, the late Joe Boyd Noble, has given to other endeavors, as well. She is known for her support of Redondo Union High School and USC, among others. Her husband, who was named one of the 50 Distinguished Alumni honored for the college’s 50th anniversary in 1997, was also a devoted ECC supporter.

In addition to establishing the ECC Noble Endowed Chair for Business, Noble donations have supported the remodel of the woodworking and cabinetry shop and created the Joe Boyd Noble Memorial Scholarship, which awards $2,000 annually to a deserving ECC student.

The ECC Noble Endowed Chair for Business is one of only two among the state’s community colleges and the first at ECC.