A longtime and generous supporter of the University of Mississippi in Oxford has stepped forward with a $200,000 gift commitment for the college's new Patterson School of Accountancy building, the college announced Nov. 13.
"The Gertrude C. Ford Foundation is proud to support the nationally acclaimed Patterson School of Accountancy," said John C. Lewis, vice president of the foundation. "We are grateful to have an opportunity to help continue the strong legacy of this outstanding program."
The Patterson School on the Ole Miss campus is ranked No. 8 in the nation, according to the college's news service, and No. 1 among Southeastern Conference universities, marking the 10th consecutive year of top 10 rankings for the school.
The university's growth in student enrollment is driving plans for the new academic home, projected to cost more than $70 million. To honor the gift, the Gertrude C. Ford Career Center will be part of the four-story facility featuring 100,000 sq. ft. of tiered auditoriums and classrooms, study areas, conference rooms, administrative and faculty office suites, and outdoor balconies and terraces.
"Planned for the heart of campus, overlooking the Grove, this new home will provide unprecedented visibility for the school, serve as a recruiting tool in attracting and keeping top students, faculty and staff, and bring everyone under one roof with an enhanced sense of community," according to the university news service.
New Accountancy Building Comes at ‘Critical Time'
Morris Stocks, an Ole Miss professor, and the Don Jones Chair of Accountancy, requested the support from the Ford Foundation.
"We have had a great relationship with Dr. Stocks over the years, so when he came to us, we wanted to help," explained Stephen Sims, the foundation's president. "We feel that the Patterson School, one of the top schools, is very well known and respected."
Stocks said it has been his privilege to work with the foundation for many years, adding that its board members "have directed long-term and generous philanthropy to the University of Mississippi, placing the Ford Foundation as one of the most significant benefactors in the university's history."
"This new facility comes at a critical time in the growth of the school. We believe that this magnificent, new structure, placed in one of the premier locations on campus, will help move us toward our goal of becoming the top accounting program in the country," he continued.
Naming the career center for Ford is "appropriate," Sims noted.
"We just wanted to find something that would have an impact on students," he explained. "Mrs. Ford was interested in anything that would strengthen education and opportunities for young people. The career center is right in line with that because it gives students clear paths for their careers."
When Sims reflects on his hopes for the long-range impact of the foundation's gift, he points to the preparation offered students.
"We hope the Patterson School will turn out well-rounded, knowledgeable graduates with expertise," he said. "All accounting is important in our society. We want these students to be well trained."
Foundation's Support Has Been Huge at Ole Miss
The Ford Foundation's support will go toward Now & Ever: The Campaign for Ole Miss, a fundraising initiative to secure $1.5 billion in private gifts to strengthen the university for future generations, the school said. The foundation has provided more than $67.8 million to Mississippi's Oxford and Medical Center campuses. The Ole Miss Student Union was recently renamed for Ford to honor that support.
This past summer, its $2.5 million gift to the Campaign for Children's of Mississippi pushed the effort over its $100 million goal to $101.5 million. The philanthropic drive helped pay for a multi-story expansion of the state's only children's hospital that doubled the square footage devoted to pediatric care at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
The foundation also committed $25 million to the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation, a STEM academic building under construction in the university's Science District.
In addition, a major artery running through the Science District between University Avenue and All-American Drive, will be renamed Ford Way to honor the foundation's donations to Ole Miss.
Besides being the location for the STEM building, it will include an area honoring Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner, an Ole Miss graduate, and the activities he performed in that part of campus. This pathway will bring together both science and Faulkner's literary works in a way that honors their connection to the liberal arts.
The Ford Foundation contributed $25 million for the 88,000-sq.-ft. Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts, opened in 2022, and gifts to several other university initiatives, such as the Gertrude C. Ford Ballroom in The Inn at Ole Miss, the Daniel W. Jones, M.D. Chair For Faculty Support on the Oxford campus, the Suzan Thames Chair of Pediatrics at the MIND Center research clinic on the Medical Center campus, and land for Gertrude C. Ford Boulevard, providing a new north-south thoroughfare for the ever-growing Oxford-University of Mississippi community.
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