Ridgeland, Miss.-based accounting firm Horne LLP has committed $250,000 to enhance faculty support at the University of Mississippi's Patterson School of Accountancy.
The Horne LLP Accountancy Excellence Endowment, which was established in 2009 with a gift of $100,000, has been renamed the Horne LLP Accountancy Lectureship Endowment with the new $150,000 commitment.
The endowment provides resources for faculty members, one of the school's greatest needs. Resources will include salary supplements as well as funds for research and creative support. Building faculty support is also one of the university's campus-wide priorities with the mission of assuring that current Ole Miss students and generations to come are taught by outstanding teachers.
"We are profoundly grateful for this tremendous investment by our Ole Miss accountancy alumni with Horne," said Mark Wilder, dean of the Patterson School of Accountancy. "This generous gift provides critical resources for faculty support and helps ensure our ability to offer competitive salaries to attract and retain professors of the highest quality. We have a great partnership with Horne, and we appreciate so much their commitment to helping provide Ole Miss students with the best accounting education possible through this investment in our faculty."
Joey D. Havens, Horne LLP executive partner, said, "Our hope for the endowment is that it will allow the accountancy school to continue its mission of excellence in accounting education.
"Creating value and making a difference is our daily mission. We are among the top firms in the country and continue to experience strong growth even in a slow economy. We hope our partnership with the Patterson School of Accountancy will continue to help provide leadership for our bright future."
The firm employs 41 Ole Miss graduates, and 21 of them are contributors to the endowment. In addition, Horne offers a matching gift program and matches each of the donations made by the team members.
Terry Traylor, director of finance, is among the donors.
"The success of the Patterson School of Accountancy, and the national recognition it continues to receive, excites me about being an integral part of its program," Traylor said. "The school provided me with the education and professor influence that have helped me have a successful 25-year career in accounting. I hope our commitment to the endowment will help attract and retain professors that provide the education and career guidance to the students who are future leaders of our profession."
The publication Accounting Today, in its 2012 "Top 100" list, ranks Horne as the 53rd largest accounting and business advisory firm in the country. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in business this year, the firm has 12 offices, in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas.
"The Ole Miss accountancy program is a top 10 program in the country that sits squarely in the middle of our Southeastern footprint," Havens said. "We know our Ole Miss team members are some of the most qualified in the profession, and this program provides us with lots of opportunity for recruitment of new talent. We feel that the Ole Miss program is special, and we want to be part of making a difference for our profession."
For more information about providing gifts of all sizes to the Patterson School of Accountancy, contact Jenifer McMillan, director of development for accountancy, at 662-915-1993 or mcmillan@olemiss.edu.