Anonymous Donor Honors Parents with Literacy Gift

His donation establishes an endowment to support the Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction in the School of Education and honors his late parents, who were members of the Ole Miss family. 

The donor cherishes how his parents conveyed literacy to their children and grandchildren, planting an appreciation of reading and creative writing in each of them.

"We tend to take reading for granted and forget that it can be hard won, not a birthright," he said. "My father recalled how his mother, my grandmother, helped him for all time. The family budget was very tight, but my grandmother worked and saved enough money to buy all volumes of 'The Harvard Classics' for him. He could quote verses he learned from those books until he was very old.

"All through life, children learn skills of literacy that they can adapt and communicate to their own advantage. I hope my gift helps plant a long-lasting enthusiasm for how literacy's skills can sustain them for whatever they wrestle with in a constantly changing world."

The donor's support will assist CELI as it works with partners to build family, educator and community capacity to nurture children's language, literacy and executive functioning skills. The center sponsors programs throughout Mississippi, including Mission Acceleration, Mississippi Jumpstart, Mind in the Making, Parent Academy and Thirty Million Words.

"His exceptional gift will ensure that more children and their families have access to programs that grow and strengthen children's literacy development, setting them on a path to academic and lifelong success," said Angela Rutherford, the center's director and professor of teacher education.

"Mississippi's children are worth the investment because they define our state's future."

Funds from the gift will support and increase the number of Mississippi Campaign for Grade-Level Reading communities to help ensure all children can read on grade level by the end of third grade. This statewide campaign is based on the belief that schools succeed with community support, Rutherford said.

"Engaged communities mobilize to remove barriers, expand opportunities and help parents and schools fulfill their roles and responsibilities to serve as full partners in their children's success," she said.

Another focus will be on sustaining the family engagement and support efforts that are being launched with grant funding. The center also plans to purchase a van to transport Ole Miss students who work with pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade students in communities outside Lafayette County.

For more information on supporting the School of Education, contact Kelly Smith Marion, director of development, at ksmith13@olemiss.edu or 662-915-2007; or Drew Newcomb, development associate for estate and planned giving, at newcomb@olemiss.edu or 662-915-2270.

Top: A $1 million gift from an anonymous donor will establish an endowment to bolster the university’s Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction. The donor's support will help the center work with partners to build language and literacy skills among Mississippi children. Photo by Nathan Latil/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services