Endowment for the Future of the South
"Accomplished Southern leaders have no regional meeting place, a town square where issues of the day are debated with civility and practical solutions proposed that are free of the rigidities of ideology."
-From the L. Q. C. Lamar Society Mission Statement
The Endowment for the Future of the South will enable the Center for the Study of Southern Culture to bring together leaders in the academic, business, government, and non-profit communities to explore collaboratively ways to advance the South's development. The Endowment will also foster partnerships between the Center and a variety of University of Mississippi institutes that the University has recently created to play a role in public policy discussions, including the Charles Overby Center for Journalism and Southern Politics, William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation, the Trent Lott Leadership Institute. The Endowment will be a catalyst for on-campus initiatives and will also link with like-minded research projects across the region.
When fully funded, the Endowment for the Future of the South will offer what is currently unavailable: a meeting place for Southern leaders to generate ideas, identify best practices across the region, and make use of a unique network of conferences, workshops, and publications to advance the development of the South.
The University of Mississippi and the Center for the Study of Southern Culture are positioned to provide the institutionalized forums bringing together students, faculty, library resources, research centers, and public outreach to generate and clarify ideas the South needs to bring civic renewalÑwhich is the ultimate objective of the Endowment.
ENDOWMENT ACTIVITIES
- Annual Conference of Regional Leaders Held Across the South
- Workshops on Regional Issues Generating Research on Development
- Annual Publication Proposing Practical Recommendations for Issues Facing the South
- Catalyst for University of Mississippi Public Policy Initiatives
- Website as Informational and Networking Source for Southern Leaders
- Conference of Rhodes Scholars from the South
- Conference of White House Fellows from the South
- Student Interns Working with Southern Regional Issues
- Feed Ideas and Best Practices to Such Public Policy Agencies as the Southern
- Growth Policies Board, the Southern Governors Association, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Appalachian Regional Commission
OUTCOMES
- Promote Racial Reconciliation to Find Concrete Ways to Work Across Racial Differences
- Promote Environmental Stewardship of the South's Natural Resources
- Advance Cultural Tourism as a Way to Draw from the South's Culture for Economic Development
- Find Ways to Perpetuate the South's Literary and Musical Heritage Among Schoolchildren
- Explore How Faith-based Initiatives Can Draw from the South's Religious Heritage and Contribute to Community Health
- Adapt Southern Architectural Styles to Create a Sense of Community in Contemporary Housing
- Pass on the Mantle of Leadership to Promising Young Southern Leaders