Now & Ever Campaign Shatters Historic $1.5B Goal Early

Records Surpassed, Campaign for Ole Miss Runs through June 2025

by Tina H. Hahn

With a pop of confetti and toasts of champagne, the University of Mississippi announced it has secured $1.5 billion for Now & Ever: The Campaign for Ole Miss, a goal passed more than a year ahead of schedule.

The university has now reached the largest fundraising campaign goal in the state of Mississippi thanks to the tremendous support from thousands of proud alumni and friends. With the campaign running through June 30, 2025, there are still many chances to strengthen the university.

Classroom teaching is at the core of the University of Mississippi’s mission, and proceeds from the Now & Ever campaign is helping to recruit and retain some of the nation’s best professors and mentors. Donors to the campaign have created 374 new scholarship endowments and 57 faculty support endowments. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

“We are absolutely elated to reach our $1.5 billion goal a year ahead of the Now & Ever campaign conclusion, and we are so grateful to our deeply committed alumni and friends who stepped up with generous gifts,” Chancellor Glenn Boyce said. “I extend our heartfelt appreciation to the thousands in our university family who have invested in educational opportunities for students to build their legacies here at Ole Miss.”

The chancellor said university leadership knew many caring Ole Miss supporters would step up to the challenge in a big way, and they did.

Almost 80,000 donors have made more than 471,000 contributions to Now & Ever: The Campaign for Ole Miss in the form of outright gifts, pledges, matches and planned gifts. A total of $720 million was committed to Oxford campus academics. Donors created 374 new scholarship endowments and 57 faculty support endowments.

Proceeds from the Now & Ever campaign are helping to build endowments for faculty support, which are vital to recruiting and retaining world-class faculty and researchers to teach and mentor Ole Miss students. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

Also, thus far in the campaign, $300 million was gifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center and $480 million to Ole Miss Athletics.

The campaign was publicly launched on Nov. 12, 2021. Its areas of concentration are building leaders, empowering academic excellence, fueling research and innovation, creating economic opportunities and enhancing facilities for champions in every field.

“While we are thrilled to reach our goal, there are still numerous opportunities to transform lives and help the university reach new heights,” Boyce said.

Now & Ever initiatives include:

A new home for the Patterson School of Accountancy is planned at the corner of University Avenue and Grove Loop. The cost of the 100,000-square-foot building is expected to exceed $125 million. The university is more than halfway to reaching a private giving goal to help secure the funds needed to begin construction.
Initiatives to support ground-breaking research impact the health and well-being of Mississippians and people worldwide as well as provide economic growth and opportunities.
Building endowments for faculty support are vital to recruiting and retaining world-class faculty and researchers to teach and mentor Ole Miss students and change the world through innovation. Support creates endowed chairs and professorships, which add prestige and funding to create new programs.
Ole Miss has further plans to enhance the arts on campus, including creating a world-class Institute for the Arts, a recording studio, a scene shop and a rehearsal hall to embolden the next generation of performing artists.
Opportunities for scholarships and graduate student stipends enable students to graduate with limitless career opportunities without being burdened by debt.
The Medical Center continues to seek $10 million in private funding to supplement legislative support for a new UMMC School of Nursing building on the Jackson campus and an additional $6 million in philanthropic support to go with the $4 million already gifted toward a centralized clinic for The Memory Impairment and Neurodegenerative Dementia (MIND) Center.
The Ole Miss Athletics Foundation continues to attract support for student-athletes, program operations and capital projects in an ever-changing college sports environment. Private support will make a transformative difference in the lives of student-athletes and help teams excel at the highest levels of collegiate competitions.
And, a new Triplett Alumni Center will help us continue to welcome thousands of Rebels home to Ole Miss.

For a full list of initiatives, click here.

Some of the money raised through the Now & Ever campaign is earmarked for a planned new home for the Patterson School of Accountancy at the corner of University Avenue and Grove Loop. The university is more than halfway to a private giving goal to begin construction on the building, projected to cost more than $125 million.

The Now & Ever co-chairs are Maj. Gen. Leon Collins (ret.) (BBA 82), and Debra F. Collins of Madison, Mississippi, and Sean Tuohy (BBA 85) and Leigh Anne Tuohy (BS 82), of Memphis, Tennessee. A 44-member Campaign Steering Committee of alumni and friends supports the four co-chairs. Many alumni and friends also serve on campaign committees for individual schools, the College of Liberal Arts and various units.

Leon Collins said reaching the goal a year early is nothing short of phenomenal.

“So many have participated in helping us reach this milestone,” he said. “But now is not the time to slow our progress. As we continue this effort into 2025, I encourage those who have not been a part to join us as we move Ole Miss forward. Now is the time to make a commitment and show our appreciation for what the university has meant to us.”

Leigh Anne Tuohy noted that the university is experiencing tremendous momentum fueled by a caring university community and enhanced by generous support.

“Wonderful things are happening at Ole Miss right now,” she said. “A huge thank you goes to all those who have committed thus far; there’s something for everyone to support in this dynamic campaign. Every dollar given is securing the future of the Ole Miss we all love!”

A portion of the money raised through the Now & Ever campaign is helping to provide new facilities for Ole Miss students, such as the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation, nearing completion in the university’s Science District. The 202,000-square-foot center is expected to be among the nation’s top student-centered learning environments for STEM fields. Submitted photo.

Charlotte Parks, vice chancellor for development, applauded the alumni and friend volunteers for their engagement.

“We are at this milestone because of our incredible volunteers. They provide valuable ideas and feedback and open doors to new investors. It is exciting to see more and more people wanting to be part of Ole Miss and providing opportunities for our students,” she said.

For more information about current campaign priorities and how to support them, visit https://nowandever.olemiss.edu/initiatives/. To learn more about supporting the campaign, contact Charlotte Parks, vice chancellor for development, at cpparks@olemiss.edu or 662-915-3120.