Bill Dabney

Dinner conversations at the home of Rosa Healy Hester and William E. “Slew” Hester, Jr., of Jackson were monopolized by lively discussions on current events. Education and knowledge were not only to be admired but also to be attained. “Mother and Daddy emphasized excelling in school,” said attorney and Ole Miss graduate Kathryn Healy Hester,…

Dr. Gloria Dodwell Kellum’s indomitable spirit is synonymous with the renaissance occurring at The University of Mississippi. In countless planning sessions with different student, faculty, staff, and alumni groups in conjunction with the University’s recent Sesquicentennial and the Commitment to Excellence Campaign, and now in other forums, Kellum asks people not just to dream—but to…

Shovels turned in the rich soil, and red roses—a metaphor for both students and the vision of the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy—were planted at the March 28 dedication of the Rose Garden outside the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Each of the 28 rosebushes represents a scholarship endowment of $100,000…

Jennie Mosby Cochran, a well-known figure on the Ole Miss campus and around Oxford during the 1940s and ’50s, served as an unofficial mentor for many college students. Her official title was house director for the Gamma Delta Chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha fraternity, but, to her “girls,” she was lovingly known as “Aunt Jennie.”…

UNIVERSITY, Miss. — Jim Bennett met Faye Evans at church in the early 1940s. She offered to fix him up with a blind date, but instead, they dated and later married. Today, she is being remembered with a University of Mississippi scholarship by Bennett, his second wife and two daughters. "Helping other people is part…

UNIVERSITY, Miss. – Mike Starnes took a walk with his friend Robert Khayat on ground where both men’s roots run deep – the University of Mississippi’s Oxford campus. As they enjoyed the classic campus setting, the Memphis businessman recognized that Khayat, the university’s chancellor, had put his heart and soul into serving their alma mater.…

With the expansion of University Advancement, Development Services, and The University of Mississippi Foundation, it has been essential to day-to-day operations to maintain a state-of-the-art computer system. When Lance Felker joined the Foundation team last September as systems administrator, he had one goal: install a massive upgrade and complete the conversion process as quickly and…

Donna Ruth Else Roberts is giving from example—one of the latest in a flurry of generous gifts through the Ole Miss Women’s Council. The “connect” for her was immediate: She said she has understood the importance of college scholarships her entire life—her father was not able to attend college but became a successful businessman and…

Becky Jones West says her two passions are Ole Miss and opportunities for women. Her $100,000 scholarship endowment fund will open the doors to both. A founding member of the Ole Miss Women’s Council, West has been a behind-the-scenes resource for the UM administration for many years—sharing her advice and expertise as a successful Memphis…

There are seven bright new faces at The University of Mississippi—the first bloom in the garden planted by the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy. The Women’s Council was created in 2000 to attract funds for scholarships by tapping into the greater participation of women in their financial lives.  In 2001, having raised more than…