Wyatt Legacy Expands at UM

Estate gift provides support to two departments working to improve community health and well-being

UM student Madison Dacus, of Jonesboro, Arkansas (in blue), practices an audiology exam with classmate Emily Watkins, of Pontotoc. The UM Speech and Hearing Clinic offers speech-language, hearing, and swallowing testing and therapies. Photo courtesy UM Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

OXFORD, Miss. – As a child, the late John Lacy Wyatt benefited from speech services provided by the University of Mississippi‘s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. A generous gift from the Calhoun City resident’s estate will ensure those services continue to help others in his community.

The 1964 UM graduate’s testamentary gift has established the John Lacy Wyatt Endowment for Communication Sciences and Disorders.

The UM Speech and Hearing Clinic, or UMSHC, part of the department, provides clinical education for graduate students enrolled in communication sciences and disorders as well as speech-language-hearing services to patients of all ages in its service area.

UMSHC evaluates and treats individuals’ speech-language disorders, including articulation/phonology; expressive and receptive language; stuttering and other fluency disorders; voice; aural rehabilitation; adult neurological rehabilitation; augmentative communication; dysphagia (swallowing); dialect reduction and literacy. The center also provide hearing evaluations and hearing aid sales and service.

“We are so grateful that our services made a difference in Mr. Wyatt’s life,” said Vishaka Rawool, chair and professor of communication sciences and disorders. “We will use his gift to support our tradition of excellence in clinical education and speech-language and audiological services, all of which are critical in our community.”

Wyatt further extended his generosity in perpetuity by establishing the John Lacy Wyatt Endowment for Health, Exercise Science and Recreation Management, providing needed support to a department centered on improving the wellness of individuals and communities. His gift will enable the department to continuously improve its teaching, research and service to benefit students in exercise science, sport and recreation administration, health promotion, and health and kinesiology.

“Our faculty, staff and students in the School of Applied Sciences at Ole Miss are very grateful for Mr. Wyatt’s generosity to two of our deserving departments,” said Peter Grandjean, the school’s dean. “This gift will only further our mission to create healthier, more vibrant communities, starting right here in north Mississippi.”

Wyatt graduated from Vardaman High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Ole Miss before receiving a master’s degree in education from Mississippi State University.

For over 20 years, he taught physical education in Calhoun City and coached football and baseball for his beloved Wildcats, retiring in 1986. Shortly after, Calhoun City Schools recognized Wyatt’s legacy by naming its baseball field in his honor. In 2017, Calhoun City added to that legacy by presenting him with the “Lifetime Wildcat” award.

Individuals and organizations make gifts to the John Lacy Wyatt Endowment for Communication Sciences and Disorders by sending a check, with the fund’s name noted on the memo line, to the University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655, or by giving online here. Likewise, gifts to the John Lacy Wyatt Endowment for Health, Exercise Science and Recreation Management may be made here.

For information on including the university in estate plans, contact Daniel K. Wiseman, CFRE, senior director of gift planning, at 662-915-5944 or daniel@olemiss.edu.