The Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy (OMWC), a celebrated scholarship program at the University of Mississippi, welcomes four new members who will help further its mission to nurture student leadership, philanthropy and mentoring.
Donna Glenn of Memphis, Tennessee, Stephanie Hickman of Chicago, Illinois, Jenny Robertson of Memphis and Donna Strum of Oxford, Mississippi, have joined the OMWC family.
“Our new members are women who bring exceptional leadership, mentorship, business and philanthropic experience to our organization and are already making a positive difference,” said Roane Grantham of Oxford, OMWC chair.
Donna Hatley Glenn earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Memphis. Her career at FedEx in corporate communications included writing for employee and management publications, as well as video production and executive officer speech writing.
Her civic and community involvement includes sustainer membership in the Junior League of Memphis. In her active years, she was editor of the Volunteer Voices magazine, which received national recognition.
Glenn has been a board member and live auction chair for the annual gala fundraiser at Madonna Learning Center, a school for special needs children and young adults, in Germantown, Tennessee. Additionally, she is an active board member and former chair of the Smithsonian-affiliated Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum, which hosts the prestigious Memphis Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
In 2017, as a wedding anniversary gift from her husband, Mike, the Donna H. Glenn Scholarship Endowment was established under the umbrella of the OMWC for entering freshmen majoring in journalism. Glenn and her husband, an Ole Miss graduate, have three children, two of whom are Ole Miss alumni.
Stephanie Hickman leads the construction company her family started in 1967. She is instrumental in its transformation from a small residential construction company to an award-winning, utility infrastructure and commercial concrete contractor serving Fortune 500 corporations, top 100 general and infrastructure contractors and major public entities.
Trice Construction Co.’s accomplishments include becoming the first African American woman-owned construction firm awarded prime and multi-year contracts with large investor-owned utility companies including Exelon/ComEd, Ameren, Peoples Gas and Southern Company/Nicor Gas along with prime contracts for the Chicago Department of Transportation.
Her company has garnered numerous awards, including the 2018 Women’s Business Enterprise of the Year for the Women’s Business Development Center; 2017 Construction Firm of the Year from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency and the 2017 Urban Impact Award from the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City. Hickman was named a 2021 Notable Women in Construction and Design by Crain’s Chicago Business and a 2022 Outstanding CEO in Women’s Enterprise Magazine.
Hickman earned a law degree at UM and a business degree at Eastern New Mexico University. She serves on the board of the UM Foundation and on the boards of trustees for the Griffith Museum of Science and Industry and Glenwood Academy. She is also a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, The Chicago Network and is a life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She is married to Kenneth Speller.
Jenny Robertson is senior vice president of global brand and communications at FedEx. She is responsible for managing the company’s reputation around the world through advertising, strategic communications, media relations, public affairs, citizenship, sponsorships and social media.
Since joining FedEx in 2004, Robertson launched “FedEx Cares,” the company’s signature community engagement program, led the development of several award-winning advertising campaigns and helped shape the reputation of FedEx as one of the 20 most admired companies in the world as ranked by FORTUNE Magazine.
Robertson is a four-time winner of the FedEx Five Star Award and has won numerous accolades for public relations, including being named a PRWeek Hall of Femme honoree. She serves as board chair for Memphis Brand and is a member of the board for the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis. Robertson graduated from Ole Miss in 1998 where she was editor of The Daily Mississippian and named to the student Hall of Fame. She lives in Memphis with her husband Rob, who also graduated from Ole Miss, and two children.
Dr. Donna Strum serves as dean of the Ole Miss School of Pharmacy and executive director of the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. An alumna of Ole Miss, she earned a B.S. in pharmacy in 1995 and a Ph.D. in pharmacy administration in 1999. Her career began at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences before she returned to Ole Miss in 2008 as chair and professor in the Department of Pharmacy Administration.
Her research has focused on community pharmacy practice, quality improvement and health outcomes. In 2017, she joined the Office of the Provost as associate provost, where she played a central role in academic budgeting policy and student retention initiatives. She also led efforts in entrepreneurship and equity, creating the Career-Life Program and chairing the university’s Pay Equity Salary Taskforce. In 2020, she was honored with the Outstanding Staff Award in the Executive category.
As dean, Strum has doubled alumni engagement and significantly increased philanthropic support. Under her leadership, the pharmacy school launched its online M.S. program in dietary supplements and cannabis and established the National Center for Cannabis Research and Education.
Her commitment to community-based care has led to national recognition as an ACT Community Pharmacy Center of Excellence. She also serves on the board of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Education.
Strum and her husband, Matt, also a pharmacist, have three children: One daughter is a student at the University of Mississippi Medical Center after earning her undergraduate from Ole Miss, another daughter is an Ole Miss student and their son is a sophomore at Oxford High School.
Since being launched in 2000, the OMWC has built an endowment over $22 million and is recognized as one of the most innovative scholarships in the nation. Currently, 41 scholars benefit from the $40,000 scholarships ($10,000 per year for four years).
Over 205 students, including the 2025-2026 cohort of nine freshmen, have received these awards, which are among the largest on campus. The scholarships provide a full-time scholar support staff, career and life mentoring, leadership development, guidance for a philanthropic approach to life and opportunities to travel, study abroad and attend cultural events.
To learn more about supporting the Ole Miss Women’s Council, contact Suzanne Helveston, program director, at shelveston@olemiss.edu or 662-915-2956, or online at https://omwc.olemiss.edu.
By Tina H. Hahn/UM Development