AVX Corporation has made a $200,000 gift to Coastal Carolina University to establish a new professorship, the Marshall D. Butler Distinguished Professor of Finance.

Butler served as CEO and chairman of AVX, the Myrtle Beach-based electronic components manufacturer, from 1973 until his retirement in 1993. Butler is credited with leading the company to its dominant position in the worldwide production and sales of ceramic capacitors. He championed the use of market research and the expansion of operations to Europe and Asia.

"We are excited about this opportunity to honor Mr. Butler," said David A. DeCenzo, provost and senior vice president of academic administration at Coastal. "We are also grateful to AVX and its current CEO, Mr. John Gilbertson, for their continued support of Coastal. Gifts such as this go a long way to enhance academic programs we offer our students at CCU."

AVX was founded in 1954 and has been a significant industry for Horry County. Today AVX operates 20 manufacturing facilities located in 11 countries and maintains five research and development centers. Markets served include automotive, consumer, data processing, medical and telecommunications. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, although today it is majority-owned by Japanese electronics giant Kyocera Corporation.

The professorship will serve to recruit and retain top finance faculty in the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration and ensure that Coastal's business program is competitive with other universities across the country.