The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation announced today that its tornado relief and campus beautification campaigns were entering a quiet phase as the nation focuses its attention on tornado victims in Oklahoma. During this time the Foundation will refrain from publicly soliciting donors for the campaigns.

In just 24 hours, The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation successfully raised $130,234.46 to support the restoration of the front lawn of the University’s Hattiesburg campus that was heavily damaged by the tornado on February 10. 

The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation recently announced Dr. Shannon Fleming as its next Executive Director, effective June 3. In this role, Fleming will serve as the chief staff executive for the USM Foundation, in addition to serving as the director of development for the University, and will be responsible for the Foundation’s strategic leadership, attainment of goals and objectives, coordination of fundraising activities and board management.

The University of Southern Mississippi announced today a comprehensive landscaping plan to restore the southern edge of the University’s Hattiesburg campus that was heavily damaged by an EF-4 tornado on February 10. The USM Foundation also announced a campus beautification campaign to generate private funds to help address the cost of the plan.

With a $1 million gift commitment from Joe and Kathy Sanderson of Laurel, Miss., The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation’s College of Nursing Building Campaign has exceeded the $5 million mark on the way to reaching its $8 million goal.

With a planned gift of retirement funds to The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation, Dr. Judy Driskell left her legacy at her alma mater by establishing the Driskell/Peters Graduate Research Fellowship Endowment.

With a $1 million gift commitment from Joe and Kathy Sanderson of Laurel, Miss., The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation’s College of Nursing Building Campaign has exceeded the $5 million mark on the way to reaching its $8 million goal.

With its most recent gift of $20,000, the Favre 4 Hope Foundation has now contributed more than $200,000 to The Children’s Center for Communication and Development at The University of Southern Mississippi.

The Paul Richard Lambert Public Service Scholarship Endowment was recently established at The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation to memorialize Rick Lambert.

The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation continues to raise support for the College of Nursing Building Campaign to help fund the construction of Asbury Hall, the proposed new home for the College that will provide its students and faculty with the tools they need to continue to make a difference in the lives of Mississippi residents.

A new scholarship has been established in the College of Business at The University of Southern Mississippi that recognizes the importance of character. Many scholarships are based on financial need or academic excellence; however, the College of Business Merit Scholarship is based on both of those criteria plus character – integrity, work ethic and commitment to finish a degree.

A generous gift of stock to The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation from Dr. and Mrs. Larry Smith of Hattiesburg, Miss., has established a scholarship endowment in Music and enhanced an existing scholarship endowment in Theatre and Dance. As avid supporters of the arts, Dr. and Mrs. Smith hope the scholarships will help to continue to attract talented students to the arts programs at Southern Miss.

The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation has set a new record for gifts and pledges received during a single fiscal year at $20,336,110. The record eclipses the previous mark of $13.9 million from fiscal year 2006 by 46 percent and also represents an increase of 300 percent over the amount raised last year. More than 4,620 donors participated in the record-setting effort.

With 32 percent of full time University employees making gifts to The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation, the 2012 Campaign for Southern Miss has exceeded its goal. The Campaign, which was an effort to increase the number of Southern Miss faculty and staff that give back to the University through the USM Foundation, began on July 1, 2011, and will end on June 30, 2012.

Dr. Arthell Kelley, Southern Miss alumnus and longtime faculty member, left a $600,000 bequest to The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation to support scholarships for geography students at the University.

The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation announced the successful conclusion of the $10 million Building Better Business Campaign.

The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation was proud to once again host the Honor Club Black Tie Gala on March 23, 2012, at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Miss.

A $100,000 commitment to The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation from Hattiesburg Clinic will help fund the DuBard School for Language Disorders 50th Anniversary Campaign and the School of Nursing Building Campaign at Southern Miss.

In celebration of its 90th anniversary, Mississippi Export Railroad Company established the Mississippi Export Railroad Gulf Coast Scholarship Endowment with a gift of $50,000 to The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation.

With a gift of $60,000 to The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation, the Mississippi Manufacturers Association (MMA) has established the Mississippi Manufacturers Association Scholarship Endowment.

With just a few shovel turns of dirt, the long-imagined dream of a new home for the College of Business at The University of Southern Mississippi has taken a significant leap toward reality.

The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation announced an $8 million fundraising campaign on January 18 to help construct a new facility for the University’s School of Nursing.

Thanks to a gift from The First Bancshares Inc., The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation’s Building Better Business Campaign has exceeded the $8 million mark on its way to reaching its $10 million goal. In addition, Southern Miss alumnus Chuck Scianna has issued a matching gift challenge to help raise the remaining $2 million needed to move forward with construction of the new College of Business building this summer.

The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation proudly announces the renaming of the planned giving society. Formerly the Founders’ Society, the McCarty Legacy recognizes the foresight of those who are helping to secure the future of Southern Miss through planned giving.

After only seven months into the public phase of the Building Better Business Campaign, The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation has successfully raised more than $7.8 million in gifts and pledges to fund the construction of a new building for the College of Business at Southern Miss.

Singer, songwriter and University of Southern Mississippi alumnus Jimmy Buffett, alongside his sisters Lucy Buffett and Laurie Buffett McGuane, performed a one-of-a-kind christening for their donated vessel, Miss Peetsy B, at the university’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs on Monday, Dec. 5.

In keeping with its generous history of contributions to The University of Southern Mississippi, the Luckyday Foundation has made a $4 million gift commitment to be used for construction of new student housing.