New Orleans native Stan Williams will be the first to tell you that he loves Louisiana State University, but that has never diminished his admiration for the University of Mississippi. Ever since his graduation from UM’s School of Pharmacy in 1989, he has remained a steadfast supporter of the school.
Williams’ undergraduate career began at LSU before he transferred to Ole Miss, where he would eventually leave his mark with numerous conversations with students and donations over the years. His most recent $75,000 gift to the School of Pharmacy establishes the Magnolia and Crescent Pharmacy Scholarship Fund, which honors his roots in both Mississippi and Louisiana.
The new scholarship, which will grow into an endowment to be awarded in perpetuity, will be for students who transfer from LSU, with secondary preference for students who hail from the Gulf Coast or Harrison, Hancock or Jackson counties in Mississippi.
Williams was raised in the Magnolia State and graduated high school at Saint Stanislaus College in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Following his transfer to Ole Miss from LSU, Williams fostered strong relationships with the School of Pharmacy faculty.
“They were very open and willing to work with the students,” Williams remembered. “It was about 100 to 110 students in each graduating class with lots of camaraderie; we did a lot of things together. The faculty participated in the activities we had: ball games, picnics, parties. It wasn’t like your traditional college situation or relationship.”
Since college, Williams has had a long career in the healthcare industry, though not as a traditional pharmacist. In fact, he has returned to the School of Pharmacy to inform students that there are numerous “non-traditional” career paths they can choose within the field.
Williams’ career took him across the country, working for industry titans like Eli Lilly, Quest Diagnostics, and Abbott Vascular. He now lives in Fort Worth, Texas, and is the director of national accounts for Pacira Biosciences, a pharma/biotech company.
Within the School of Pharmacy, Williams is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council. His dedication to the pharmacy school goes back decades, with his first donation six month after graduation. In fact, the school is even named as the beneficiary of his life insurance policy.
Laura Gullett, the associate director of development for the School of Pharmacy, said Williams’ scholarship fund was finalized in June 2025 after two years in the making.
“Stan is one of the most enthusiastic alumni that I know,” Gullett said. “He has a generous heart and loves the School of Pharmacy. I joke with him that his love for the pharmacy school is only second to his love for LSU. He’s someone that you want rooting for you. We’re grateful that Stan continues to support the School of Pharmacy.”
Pharmacy Dean Donna Strum thanked Williams for his gift that will support students preparing to become successful in the pharmacy profession.
“With the founding of Stan’s scholarship fund, students in the School of Pharmacy will be able to support their education and become potential leaders of tomorrow’s pharmaceutical industry,” she said. “It is because of the generosity of donors like Stan that we continue to have one of the leading pharmacy programs in the country and are able to attract such high-caliber students.”
Williams credits his success in business and in the pharmaceutical industry to his time as a student in Oxford.
“I attribute my career all back to Ole Miss,” he said. “It was a great experience.”
To make a gift to the Magnolia and Crescent Pharmacy Scholarship Fund, send a check with the fund’s name written in the memo line to the University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655; or click here to contribute online.
For more information, contact Laura Gullett, associate director of development for the School of Pharmacy, at laurahg@olemiss.edu or 662-915-2384.
By Andy Belt/UM Foundation