A Quarter Century of Transforming Lives
Ole Miss Women’s Council to celebrate 25th anniversary, plan for ‘exciting future’
By Jonathan Scott
Seeds were planted a quarter century ago to grow and nurture the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy (OMWC). Today, this scholarship program has blossomed into one of the most innovative in the United States.
Now that its roots are deep and strong, the program is poised for a remarkably impactful future.
The women who gathered together on Valentine’s Day in 2000 to launch a new University of Mississippi scholarship selected the image of a red rose to represent the unique initiative. This iconic symbol is ideally suited for a program designed to cultivate and mentor female and male students who will be tomorrow’s caring and ethical leaders.
“Like growing roses, mentoring student leaders requires loving attention to bring them into full bloom and share their beauty in service to the world,” the founding members noted when the program began.
The Women’s Council celebrates its 25th anniversary on Friday, Feb. 21, at The Lyric in Oxford. Entertainment will be provided by a popular Eagles cover band, The Eaglemaniacs. Proceeds from the celebration will support the scholarship program and tickets to the event are available by emailing omwc@olemiss.edu.
The theme of the event, “Paint the Town Red,” reflects the OMWC’s enormous success in expanding the number of scholarships created and, consequently, the number of scholars the program supports, said Karen Moore (BS 82) of Nashville, Tennessee, a longtime Women’s Council member and one of the organizers of the anniversary gala.
“The 25th anniversary is not just a celebration of what we’ve achieved,” said Roane Grantham (BACCY 90), the current Women’s Council chair. “It’s also a reminder of the impact we’re making and the exciting future that lies ahead.”
Opportunity Realized
Patricia “Patty” Lewis (BSC 62), an OMWC member and a program founder, credits three people as being among the principal organizers of the Women’s Council: Chancellor Emeritus Robert Khayat (BAED 61, JD 66), Vice Chancellor Emerita for University Relations Gloria Kellum and Ellen Robinson Rolfes of Memphis, Tennessee, now retired from Ole Miss, but who worked in the UM Development Office in 2000.
The timing was perfect, recalled Edith Kelly-Green (BBA 73), who served as the inaugural chair of the council.
“As the 20th century ended, a significant number of women had become financially successful and were responsible for making and/or influencing the majority of all charitable gifts,” Kelly-Green said. “Ellen believed that women could and should lead a philanthropic effort here at Ole Miss and that we would make a tremendous impact on the university and its students. She was right!”
Rolfes discussed this previously untapped potential with Khayat and Kellum, and the three decided to convene a Valentine’s Day luncheon with 24 philanthropic-minded women.
“As a group, we enthusiastically embraced the initiative,” Kelly-Green said. “And the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy was born.”
The founders divided its mission into three areas:
- To increase participation in philanthropy as a way of enhancing continuing excellence at the university;
- To sponsor innovative programs that attract and develop students through leadership, scholarship and mentorship;
- To encourage its scholars to become philanthropists for their communities and Ole Miss while on their life’s journey as caring, ethical leaders.
Unlike Other Scholarships
In the years since its founding, the Women’s Council’s mission has remained steadfast, but the program and its services have expanded dramatically.
The OMWC’s endowment has grown steadily — today, it’s more than $22 million. This endowment funds each scholarship, which provides a scholar with $40,000 ($10,000 a year for four years), one of the most generous available at the university.
Those establishing either academic scholarships or programmatic endowments are honored with a dedication ceremony in the Women’s Council Rose Garden, located at University Avenue and Old Taylor Road, adjacent to the Gertrude Castellow Ford Center for the Performing Arts. The donor’s name is permanently displayed in the Rose Garden, which features at its center the bronze statue, “The Mentor.”
“Our scholarship program is monetarily one of the largest offered at Ole Miss, but it’s our other components that focus on scholarship, mentorship, leadership and philanthropy that make it a stand-alone success story,” Lewis said.
In addition to the financial support, the Women’s Council provides its scholars with an extraordinary level of additional beneficial services, said Suzanne Helveston, the Women’s Council program director.
The program has two scholar advisors, Atkins Trout and Suzanne Wilkin, who work with the programming committee to oversee Red Plate Suppers, Masterclasses and other programming designed for the OMWC scholars.
“Without the encouragement and extra pushes from our scholar advisors, I would not be where I am today nor as involved with the Ole Miss community,” said Madison DeVaul, a sophomore OMWC scholar from Brandon, Mississippi. “The Women’s Council has introduced me to opportunities I didn’t know were out there.”
Throughout the academic year, Anne Cantrell, program manager for the OMWC, oversees a continuous series of events and committees served by the OMWC board, including the PULSE Leadership Conference, Khayat Lecture Series, Legacy Award, Rose Society and certain scholar events.
Every scholar is also assigned life and career mentors, many from the Oxford-Ole Miss community. Several of the 36 active members and the 23 alliance members of the Women’s Council, who have backgrounds in a wide range of professions and philanthropic organizations, also serve as mentors.
“The emphasis on mentorship is my favorite aspect of the OMWC,” said Benton Donahue, a junior Women’s Council scholar from Madison, Mississippi. “My life and career mentors have given me vital advice and helped steer me in the right direction to achieve the very best during my time at Ole Miss.”
Since it began, nearly 200 students have been awarded a scholarship from one of the 59 endowments. Seven programmatic endowments have also been established to support the Women’s Council’s many leadership-building and philanthropic-related classes and events.
Services, Programming & More
The scholarship program hosts the annual PULSE Leadership Conference, being held Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2025. PULSE, an acronym for Preparing Undergraduate Leaders, a Student Experience, focuses on developing new leadership skills and enhancing existing strengths, and centers on the core values of collaboration, communication and reflection.
This annual event not only supports Women’s Council scholars but also is open to all students at Ole Miss, and students from other higher education institutions in the state, such as Jackson State University and Mississippi College.
The Women’s Council established the Global Leadership Circle (GLC) to provide educational opportunities beyond the Ole Miss campus, said Moore.
The GLC offers financial resources to OMWC scholars so they can study abroad, participate in either a career-defining internship in the United States or overseas, or travel for other educational or career purposes, such as attending a conference.
In 2010, the OMWC created the Legacy Award, presented annually to honor those whose lives exemplify the values and tenets of the Women’s Council: philanthropy, scholarship, leadership and mentorship.
“The Legacy Award serves as an occasion to thank those who have made a positive difference at Ole Miss, in our state or around the nation,” Moore said.
“Since it was created, we have presented the Legacy Award to 12 remarkable individuals or couples. Each of our honorees serves as a role model for our scholars,” she said. “They inspire and encourage our future leaders, and the work they have done impacts and improves the lives of future generations.”
In 2018, the Emerging Young Philanthropist Award was founded to illustrate to OMWC scholars and others examples of philanthropic efforts accomplished by someone early in their life or career. To date, five young community servants have been recognized with this award.
The Robert C. Khayat Lecture Series, the latest initiative cultivated by the OMWC, is part of an expansion of impact within the Global Leadership Circle and the series has already reached nearly 1,000 participants throughout its various events, ranging from authors, philanthropists, business leaders and songwriter events.
“While the GLC travel initiative launches scholars around the world by providing financial resources and logistical support for scholars to expand their horizons by studying abroad and obtaining national and international internships, the Khayat Lecture Series is a different means by which to impact our students, alumni, the full Ole Miss family and extending to others throughout the state by bringing dynamic speakers and experiences to our campus,” said Liz Randall, an active member and past OMWC chair.
The series brings renowned speakers, uniquely talented individuals and performers to the university community where they share thought-provoking concepts, personal experiences and unique insights through the three pillars of the lecture series: leadership, philanthropy and culture.
“The speakers in our lecture series assist the Women’s Council in fulfilling its mission to encourage and educate scholars through traditional academic means but also in the lecture series’ pillars to nurture our scholars, all UM students and others in the community to carry a culturally diverse worldview while becoming more empathetic and caring and ethical leaders,” Randall said.
Preparing for the Future
The seemingly tireless group of women who comprise the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy are just getting started.
“Looking ahead, we aim to continue our positive trajectory by serving even more students, enhancing our programs and fostering an environment where our scholars can thrive,” Grantham said. “Our commitment to mentorship, unique experiences and meaningful engagement has positioned the Women’s Council as a model for other universities.”
To strengthen their efforts to create more scholarships and programming initiatives to support future scholars, the Women’s Council members are working to establish a permanent structure to serve as their headquarters.
They envision this future facility as a welcoming space for its scholars, mentors, council members and staff. Once completed, they can all gather under one roof and prepare this unparalleled scholarship program for an even brighter future.
“The growth and success of the Women’s Council could not have been predicted when Chancellor Khayat and Vice Chancellor Kellum first brought us together on Feb. 14, 2000, to hear Ellen Rolfes’ story,” Lewis said.
“We shocked a lot of people who couldn’t envision a group of women rising up to build such an impressive and important program at the University of Mississippi, a program that is positioned to make a positive, transformational impact on an unimaginable number of lives for generations to come.”
Support the Women’s Council
Ole Miss Women’s Council scholarships can be endowed for $125,000 to establish general assistance open to all students or for $250,000 to designate a scholarship for students in a particular field of study or from a specific geographic region. The Women’s Council also sponsors innovative programs that attract and develop students through leadership, scholarship and mentorship. Several options are available to support programming, such as joining the Rose Society, becoming a member of the Global Leadership Circle, or creating a new endowment to fund programming.
For more information about establishing a Women’s Council scholarship or supporting the Global Leadership Circle, the Robert C. Khayat Lecture Series, the Rose Society and other aspects of the Ole Miss Women’s Council, contact Suzanne Helveston, program director, at 662-915-2956 or shelveston@olemiss.edu. For more information about the program, visit the OMWC website at https://omwc.olemiss.edu.