Kirk and Shelly Morgan of Lexington, South Carolina, celebrated Giving Day with a $100,000 gift to help the College of Liberal Arts continue to recruit and retain top faculty.
Of course, the biggest beneficiaries of the Shelly and Kirk Morgan Fund for Faculty Excellence are University of Mississippi students.
“We feel like we’re contributing to the quality education that Ole Miss students receive,” said Kirk Morgan, a 1980 graduate with a degree in political science. “So many people at the university and in the College of Liberal Arts, in particular, are sincerely interested in strengthening academics, attracting a diverse student body and equipping students for success.
“We’re happy to contribute meaningfully to that effort.”
The Morgans’ gift was part of Giving Day, a social media-heavy fundraising event, that began April 5. Giving Day lasted for one day, eight hours and 48 minutes in honor of UM’s founding in 1848. The first Giving Day at UM, which was held in 2019, secured almost $550,000, and the event has grown in the years since.
The Morgan family’s connections to Ole Miss run deep. Kirk and Shelly met as UM undergraduates, and Shelly Stefoniak Morgan graduated in 1981 with a degree in education. Their two sons, Sam and Eddie Morgan, earned degrees from Ole Miss in 2014 and 2007, respectively.
Lee Cohen, dean of the UM College of Liberal Arts, said the Shelly and Kirk Morgan Fund for Faculty Excellence is making a difference at UM.
“The Morgans’ generous gifts to the College of Liberal Arts help ensure that Ole Miss students continue to receive the very best higher education has to offer,” Cohen said. “The Shelly and Kirk Morgan Fund for Faculty Excellence has already had a significant impact, and their continued support ensures that impact will continue for years to come.”
To make a gift to the College of Liberal Arts, contact Nikki Neely Davis, director of development, at nlneely@olemiss.edu or 662-915-6678. For more information on ways to support the university, visit https://give.olemiss.edu.
By Staff Reports