Roland Burns with wife, Sheryl, son Derek, Ole Miss Accountancy Professor Jimmy Davis and son Tyler stand in front of the newly dedicated Burns Hall. Roland and Derek shared Davis as a professor while at Ole Miss, and youngest son, Tyler will be taking a class Davis is teaching this fall.
The University of Mississippi is evolving and growing. When you walk around campus, you see all the construction underway either of completely new structures, additions or renovations. Recently Miller Hall was demolished to make way for three new residence halls.
Minor Hall was dedicated last April in honor of Lucian Minor, a 1937 graduate and accountant from Memphis. Mr. Minor and his wife, Mary, have supported the Patterson School of Accountancy in numerous ways, including the establishment of the Lucian S. Minor Endowment.
Just this past week another of the residence halls on the old Miller Hall site was renamed after Roland and Sheryl Burns of Frisco, Texas. The Burns are also great contributors and supporters of the Patterson School of Accountancy as well as to Ole Miss Athletics.
I’ve written several blogs about the people behind the names on the buildings here at Ole Miss. Most of those people I’ve never met, since the buildings were dedicated long ago and those honored are no longer with us. However, the joy of being on campus now in this age of growth means I get the opportunity to meet those contributing to this University’s continued success. And I get to see and hear first-hand about who these people are and how much they love our Ole Miss.
Each name on a building means more than someone who contributed. The name stands for a life devoted to making this University the best it can be and striving to enrich the lives of all those who will walk the halls of that building for years to come. And each building is a powerful testament to how much our alums care about Ole Miss.