Rosemary and Sandy Williams are providing $250,000 for student scholarships and faculty support in the University of Mississippi School of Business Administration. The Corinth couple says they hope the funds help students earn their degrees and inspire them to give back to their own communities. Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
Williams family provides major gift to Ole Miss business school
By Tina H. Hahn
Rosemary and Sandy Williams, who have been active in various community-building initiatives over the years, are giving $250,000 for University of Mississippi student scholarships and faculty support.
The Corinth couple’s gift establishes the Rosemary and Sandy Williams Scholar Endowment with $150,000 and the Williams School of Business Administration Excellence in Teaching Endowment with $100,000.
“For years, we have considered doing something that would at least make us feel like we were showing appreciation and the love we have for the university and our experiences there,” said Sandy Williams, one of several members of the family who graduated from UM. “I want Ole Miss to remain the No. 1 university in Mississippi and rank highly among national institutions of higher learning.”
The Williamses have spent their lives focused on making a difference in their city, county, and state.
“It is extremely important for the Ole Miss School of Business Administration to have professors who will maintain the quality and principles that have made it successful over the years and make it even better in the future,” Sandy Williams said. “I hope our heirs will be inclined to increase the funding we allocated to faculty support.”
The couple believes education is the key to a better future, and they hope their new scholarship—like others they have helped create—will inspire generations of students to pursue college degrees.
“I think even a modest scholarship can make a difference in whether a student is able or inclined to seek higher education,” Sandy Williams said. “And it may help a student decide to go to Ole Miss rather than another college and could play a big part in their decision as to whether they live in Mississippi or not.”
Williams is chair of Corinth Coca-Cola Bottling Works Inc. He was instrumental in establishing two other scholarships for UM business students: the Corinth Coca-Cola Business School Scholarship Endowment and the Refreshments Inc. Partners in Business Scholarship Fund. He also helped found the national Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, which has supported scholarships worth about $81 million since 1989.
“Securing faculty support is one of our top priorities, and the scholarships will help transform students’ lives,” said Ken Cyree, dean of the business school. “The Williams family has invested in our business school for years, and their legacy will impact generations of students.”
Sandy Williams earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1957; Rosemary, a bachelor’s degree in family and consumer sciences in 1960.
“I attended her graduation from Ole Miss and gave her a ring that day,” he said. “Our next wedding anniversary will be our 64th.”
Williams and his brother Kenneth Williams—president and CEO of Corinth Coca-Cola—are both founding board members of Corinth-Alcorn Reaching for Excellence, the city’s only community foundation, and are lifelong members and former presidents of the Corinth/Alcorn Chamber of Commerce. They were joint recipients of CREATE’s “George McLean Award for Philanthropy” in 2009 and were honored with the Red Raspberry Humanitarian Award from the Regional Rehabilitation Center in 2020.
Sandy Williams received the 2020 Jack Reed Sr. Northeast Mississippi Community Leadership Award from the CREATE Foundation and was named Outstanding Citizen of Corinth in 1998.
Rosemary Williams was Corinth’s Outstanding Citizen in 1984. She has been active in her community and the state, particularly in the areas of preservation and economic development.
She led efforts to establish the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center and to preserve and operate the Coliseum Civic Center and the historic Veranda-Curlee House. She was co-founder of the Corinth Symphony Orchestra and served 20 years on the board of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
“It’s important for everyone to do their best to help their community develop and make things better than they were before, to help improve the standard of living for everyone; I think that’s a debt we owe our communities,” Sandy Williams said. “We encourage young people to do the same thing.”
To make a gift to the Rosemary and Sandy Williams Scholar Endowment or the Rosemary and Sandy Williams School of Business Excellence in Teaching Endowment, send a check, with the fund’s name noted in the memo line, to the University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Ave., Oxford MS 38655, or give online here.
For information on supporting the School of Business Administration, contact Angela Brown, senior director of development, at browna@olemiss.edu or 662-915-3181.
