Campaign Update



The $60 million campaign to build a new law facility and to enchance support of law faculty, scholarships, clinics and the library is possible only because of the support of the law school’s alumni and friends. In recogniction of this support, each UM Lawyer over the course of the campaign will highlight some of those donors who are enhancing the future of the law school. Featured in this edition are some of the individuals and organizations that already have pledged support.

Federal Express Corporation

It comes as no surprise to anyone at The University of Mississippi that FedEx has been named by Reader’s Digest as one of “America’s Best Charity-Minded Corporations.” The generosity of FedEx Corp. has touched many individuals and departments at The University of Mississippi over the years.

When describing its social responsibility on its official Web site, the company states, “FedEx cares about the communities in which we live and work. We are dedicated to effective corporate citizenship, leading the way in charitable giving, corporate governance and a commitment to the environment.” FedEx has more than lived up to its commitment with contributions to The University of Mississippi.

“FedEx has followed a strategy of developing its in-house legal resources, and, while we hire lawyers from all over the world, we recognize the importance of having top-flight law schools in the same region as our corporate headquarters,” said Rush O’Keefe, senior vice president and general counsel at FedEx.

“As an alumnus of The University of Mississippi School of Law, the learning experiences gained there were invaluable, and we believe it’s important to support the campaign to continue building on the rich heritage of Ole Miss.”

FedEx Corp. recently presented a gift to create an academic support center for student-athletes on the UM-Oxford campus. Expected to be completed in spring 2007, the 22,5000-square-foot building will house the Student-Athlete Academic Support Center, including offices, conference rooms, tutoring rooms, study areas, a multimedia classroom, computer lab and a high-tech auditorium. In addition, FedEx has supported several endowed scholarship programs and helped inaugurate the model leadership/mentorship program through the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy. The corporation also has given to the Whitten Chair of Law and Government, the Lott Leadership Institute, the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation and renovation of William Faulkner’s home, Rowan Oak.

Roger Flynt

Although it has been more than 40 years since Roger Flynt (JD 64) walked the Ole Miss campus as a student, his continued generosity has helped the university make great strides in development and academic advancement. His charity has not only been received gratefully by the law school but has affected the entire Oxford campus over the years.

In honor of Flynt’s retirement as vice president of Atlanta’s BellSouth, the corporation made a donation of $100,000 to the university’s Commitment to Excellence Campaign for the Chancellor’s Trust Program in 2000.

“I could never repay the debt I owe Ole Miss and the law school for my education and friendships I made there,” said Flynt. “Any success I have attained is due to my wife and Ole Miss.”

A native of Meridian, Flynt attended Ole Miss as an undergraduate and as a law student. He was inducted into the UM Hall of Fame, was named UM Law Alumnus of the Year in 1992 and was selected for membership in the Phi Delta Phi Honorary Legal Fraternity. He established the South Central Bell Legal Department Scholarship in Law Endowment Fund at the university in 1988.

He also served as the Federal Bar Association president for the Mississippi Chapter, as a Fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation board of governors and as president of the UM Law Alumni Association from 1985-86. He resides in Oxford with his wife, Gaye.

Lowry Lomax

Not many students get the chance to experience—and appreciate—two completely different schools at the same university. Attorney Lowry Lomax (BSPH 71, JD 77) of Pascagoula is one of the few. After graduating with a degree in pharmaceutical sciences and working for a couple years, Lomax’s passion for law motivated him to return to the university and attend law school.

“Like so many alumni of Ole Miss, I find it gratifying to give to this school as a token of appreciation for the excellent education that I received here on both sides of the Grove—pharmacy and law,” he said. “I believe the abundance of support that Ole Miss receives from alumni and friends has made this school one that has attracted, and will continue to attract, the finest of students. I am proud to be a part of this effort.”

A native of Waynesboro, Lomax practiced pharmacy in Meridian and Mobile after earning his pharmacy degree. Two years later, he entered law school. After earning his law degree, he spent his first year in private practice and later served as assistant district attorney in Jackson, George and Greene counties.

Soon after, Lomax concentrated his efforts on representing shipyard workers who had developed diseases associated with asbestos exposure and later went on to represent thousands of shipyard workers who had lost their hearing from years of work in the shipyard.

Lomax maintains a law office in Pascagoula and currently has a satellite office in Oxford. He and his wife, Marla Leigh Williams, have a daughter, who is a junior in the business school, and a son, who is a first-year UM law student.

Jack Stephens Patty

Jack Stephens Patty (JD 39) enabled the establishment of a generous scholarship at the law school through his will. The scholarship will be presented annually as an academic scholarship to an entering full-time law student based on merit and/or need.

Patty had retired from his law career and was living in Jefferson, La., at the time of his death in 2005. For a large portion of his life, he lived and worked in Houston, Texas, for Shell Oil as a property administrator with the company’s land department. A native of Shaw, Miss., Patty graduated from Vanderbilt University before coming to Ole Miss for law school.

Patty’s nephew John Cockrell Patty III of Irvine, Calif., said his uncle was a very dignified man who was very proud of the education he received at the UM School of Law.

“He was the type of man who wore a suit and hat every time he went to the bank. He was very dignified and worked hard,” Patty said. “He honestly thought his education at Ole Miss was the best he could’ve gotten.”

Patty said his uncle became a sort of surrogate father to him after his own father died, and he is sure that his uncle would be pleased with the law scholarship endowment.

“He was very generous. In fact, a large portion of his estate went to support things like French Camp, the Ole Miss law school, churches and other charities,” he said.

Crymes G. and Scarlotte M. Pittman

Saying they want to give something to benefit all Mississippians, Crymes (BA 64, JD 66) and Scarlotte (BSC 63) Pittman have chosen time and again to share their success with The University of Mississippi.

In 1999, the Pittmans joined other major donors in making UM’s Commitment to Excellence Campaign a success through a gift that created the “Life of the Mind” freshman seminar. In addition, the Pittmans have made donations to athletics, the Triplett Alumni Center and The Inn at Ole Miss. They previously made a generous gift to the law school for library and research support, and their most recent gift to the UM School of Law campaign will greatly enhance the future education of young law students.

“I knew as soon as I could win in the gin rummy games in the basement of the old law building that the competition as a lawyer wouldn’t be that difficult,” Crymes Pittman said. “Everyone should have that opportunity.”

Pittman, who earned his bachelor’s and law degrees at Ole Miss, is a longtime member of the Mississippi Bar, a member of the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association and a fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation. A partner in the firm Pittman, Germany, Roberts & Welsh in Jackson, Pittman limits his practice to civil litigation and was part of the Mississippi tobacco litigation team.

The Pittman-Ole Miss connection extends to the next generation: the Pittmans’s son, Crymes Morgan Pittman (BA 96, JD 98), daughter, Lucy Pittman Culver (BA 90), and daughter-in-law, Ashley Pittman (BA 95, JD 98), all are Ole Miss graduates.

Justice Michael K. and Kathy Randolph

Justice Michael K. Randolph (JD 74) does not shy away from commitment to his community, evidenced most recently by his generous gift to the School of Law Campaign. From serving in the U.S. Army 1st Infantry Division during the Vietnam War to his current position as a Mississippi Supreme Court justice, Randolph has served those around him with passion and integrity.

Before Randolph sat through his first year of law classes, he was decorated for heroism in Vietnam and devoted his time and energy to the U.S. Naval Reserve. He broadened his understanding of the law while attending the Naval Justice School and as an attorney with the Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

“The University of Mississippi School of Law is more than a learning institution and educational building,” said Randolph. “It is a sanctuary where dreams are fulfilled. Not only did Ole Miss prepare me, the son of a construction worker with a third-grade education, to accomplish my ambition to practice law, it created the opportunity for me to serve the citizens of our state as a Supreme Court justice.”

While in law school, Randolph was the president of the law school student body. Since he began practicing law in 1975, Randolph has had extensive state and federal court practice and was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve on the National Coal Council. Before being elected to the Mississippi Supreme Court for an eight-year term in November 2004, Randolph practiced with Bryan Nelson Randolph, PA, in Hattiesburg. He currently resides in Hattiesburg with his wife, Kathy, and is an active member of Temple Baptist Church.