OXFORD, Miss. – Visitors arriving to the University of Mississippi campus by way of Highway 6 and Coliseum Drive will soon see new entrance gates, thanks to a $250,000 commitment to Ole Miss from the Delta Gamma House Corporation.
“First impressions are important, and since Robert Khayat became chancellor, one of our goals has been to make sure that our campus entrances are attractive and welcoming to both visitors and students,” said Gloria Kellum, vice chancellor for University Relations. “We are grateful to the Delta Gamma House Corporation for ensuring we achieve this goal and more importantly for their strong commitment to bettering Ole Miss.”
Although plans have not been finalized for the gates, university architect Ian Banner said the brick and stone structures will be similar to those at other Ole Miss entrances. With completion of the Coliseum Drive gates, expected by the end of 2009, all main roads onto campus will boast entrance gates.
“Our group wanted to make a lasting gift to the university,” said Carole Haney, president of the Delta Gamma House Corporation board and an alumnus of the Delta Gamma social sorority at Ole Miss. “We wanted to say thank you.”
The house corporation board, which consists of 12 Ole Miss Delta Gamma alumnae, oversees the operation of the Delta Gamma house on Sorority Row. The group worked with Kellum on the coordination of the gift, after the vice chancellor spoke at a house corporation meeting. Funds for the gift came from current-member dues and alumni contributions to Delta Gamma along with investment income, according to Haney.
“Supporting Ole Miss is something we believe to be worthy and important to all of us who participate in Delta Gamma,” Haney said.
Judy Trott, who also serves on the house corporation board and retired from Ole Miss as Dean of Students in 2001, said that the group is now looking forward to making another gift to the university. The Delta Gamma House Corporation will soon work with Kellum on placing a sign in front of Ventress Hall, according to Trott. The historical marker will note the Tiffany stained glass window inside the 135 year-old building. Original to Ventress, the window was donated by Delta Gamma and commemorates the University Grays, the company of Ole Miss students and faculty killed in the Civil War.
The Delta Gamma House Corporation gift is part of the university’s MomentUM Campaign, a four-year initiative to raise $200 million. Funds raised through the campaign, which ends December 31, 2008, will support scholarships, graduate fellowships, faculty support, a basketball practice facility, residential colleges and a new law school on the Oxford campus. Also in the plans are a cancer center at the UM Medical Center and a new building to house the School of Pharmacy, both in Jackson.
For more information on making a gift to the University of Mississippi, visit Make A Gift . For more information about the Ole Miss chapter of Delta Gamma, visit http://www.olemissdg.com.