For Peggy and Keith McKey, the University of Mississippi has been a source of lifelong friendships, professional opportunity and family tradition spanning generations.
Now, the couple is helping ensure future students will benefit from the same transformative experience that shaped their lives by making a $100,000 gift to the Patterson School of Accountancy Building Fund.
“I’m thankful that the Lord has blessed me in so many ways, and one of those blessings is the Patterson School, which has given so much to our family,” said Keith McKey, a resident of Edwards, Mississippi, and a 1973 UM accountancy graduate. “I want future students to have the same opportunities, support and sense of community that meant so much to me.”
Gifts to the Patterson School of Accountancy Building Fund go toward the construction of a four-story building that will house the school. The 110,000-square-foot structure will overlook the Grove from the corner of University Avenue and Grove Loop. When completed, the building will provide study spaces, administrative and faculty office suites, outdoor spaces, such as balconies and terraces, and new tiered auditoriums and advanced classrooms.
The McKeys’ gift will name a professor’s office and vestibule in the new building.
“Peggy and Keith’s extraordinary generosity reflects the very best of the Patterson School and the Ole Miss spirit,” said Mark Wilder, dean of the Patterson School of Accountancy. “Their commitment to building opportunities for future generations, coupled with their lifelong loyalty to the university, will have a lasting impact on our students.
“We are deeply grateful for their investment in the future of accountancy education at Ole Miss.”
Keith McKey’s connection to Ole Miss began long before he arrived in Oxford as a student. Raised in Utica, Mississippi, he grew up cheering for the Rebels and following Ole Miss football.
One defining moment convinced him where he belonged: As a high school quarterback, LSU offered to host him at its 1968 game against Ole Miss.
“Ole Miss scored near the end of the game, and I jumped up off the LSU bench, celebrating,” McKey recalled, adding that he had raised his arms goal-post style to signify the touchdown. “I looked around and realized nobody else was cheering. That sealed it. That’s when I knew I wanted to go to Ole Miss.”
His years on campus proved pivotal in more ways than one. As a Rebel football player during one of the program’s most memorable eras — playing on teams with Ole Miss legends Archie Manning and Ben Williams — he built friendships that endure more than five decades later and had wins over Mississippi State 48-0 his junior year and 51-14 his senior year.
“It’s not unusual to beat State two years in a row, but we beat them 99-14 in those two years,” he said.
More importantly, though, McKey discovered a calling in accounting. After earning his degree, he launched a distinguished career that included public accounting roles with Ernst & Ernst and Peat Marwick before joining EastGroup Properties in 1980. Over nearly four decades with the company, he served in leadership roles, including executive vice president and chief financial officer, helping guide EastGroup’s growth into a nationally recognized real estate investment trust.
Looking back, McKey credits the Patterson School with giving him both the technical knowledge and confidence to succeed.
“When I graduated, I felt prepared to step into any accounting firm in the country,” he said. “The program taught us accounting and tax knowledge, but also critical thinking and how to approach problems from different perspectives.”
Just as meaningful as the classroom instruction were the relationships he formed with faculty members who provided crucial guidance: Jimmy Davis, the late Gene Peery and especially the late Charles Taylor.
“He was one of my favorite teachers. He was a great guy and a great friend,” McKey recalled. “All of them were. They remain your friends for life. And Dr. Davis is not only my friend, but now he's my son's friend and my grandson's friend. The faculty at Ole Miss takes an interest in not only you, but also your family.”
The McKey family now includes four generations of UM graduates with four grandchildren currently enrolled in UM’s globally renowned accountancy program that boasts 100% placement for its graduates.
For more information about supporting the new home of the Patterson School of Accountancy, contact Jason McCormick, director of development, at jason@olemiss.edu or 662-915-1757. To make a gift, visit https://give.olemiss.edu.
By Bill Dabney/UM Foundation