Meg and William Glass. Submitted photo
William and Meg Glass commit gift to help students achieve career goals
Longtime insurance agency owner William Glass and his wife, Meg, are working to ensure University of Mississippi students majoring in risk management and insurance have the resources to succeed.
The Collierville, Tennessee, couple has created the William L. and Meg Glass Scholarship Endowment in the School of Business Administration with a gift of $50,000. They described the Ole Miss risk management and insurance program as one of the best in the country.
“I think it’s a top-notch program and is well-respected throughout the industry,” William Glass said. “My son graduated from the program in 2020, and I was very pleased with the preparation he received.
“Education costs are fairly expensive, and the insurance business has been good to me. I felt like I should give back and help other people have the chance that I have had.”
The Ole Miss RMI program is among only 34 Global Centers of Insurance Excellence that have been recognized across 11 countries. The UM program is among the nation’s oldest and largest and boasts a strong alumni network. The university is one of only two Southeastern Conference schools with a risk management and insurance major.
Andre Liebenberg, the Gwenette P. and Jack W. Robertson Chair of Insurance and professor of finance, said the result of the couple’s support will be felt in student recruitment.
“I appreciate the generosity of Meg and William Glass in providing scholarship support for our risk management and insurance students,” Liebenberg said. “As a result of their gift, and that of our other scholarship donors, we are better able to attract and retain excellent students.
“Scholarships significantly impact students’ lives by allowing them to concentrate on their schoolwork and reducing the amount of student debt they will have to repay.”
The RMI curriculum focuses on commercial risk management and culminates in a capstone course in which students perform a comprehensive risk management audit of a company, write a detailed report of risk control and transfer recommendations, and present their solutions to a panel of experts. Students determine where they would fit best in the industry by working as interns.
Other highlights of the program include career fairs, a resume book, an annual insurance symposium, an active RMI fraternity that hosts guest speakers and networking events, scholarships, opportunities to earn credit toward professional designations and funded student travel to conferences.
“I hope the long-term impact of our gift is that there are students who will get into risk management and insurance and the program will help them develop rewarding careers and give them some direction for their future,” said Glass, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ole Miss in 1984. “The Ole Miss RMI program gives them the tools they will need.”
Glass has been a licensed insurance agent for more than 30 years and has owned his own agency, The Glass Group, since 1997. His wife and son, Spencer, work with him.
“My Ole Miss degree prepared me well,” said Glass, who grew up in the Missouri boot heel with his dad and great uncle as UM alumni. “It gave me a good foundation for the insurance industry, effective communication skills and the ability to deal with people.
“I had a great experience as an undergraduate. I made lifelong friends and received well-rounded education thanks to experiences inside and outside the classroom.”
To make a gift to the William L. and Meg Glass Scholarship Endowment, 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 give online here.
By Tina H. Hahn
