Ellen Rolfes 

     Ellen Rolfes has devoted her life’s work to women and family philanthropy.  She is the principal architect of the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy, an endowed scholarship initiative, which is now recognized as a national model in fundraising.  She is also the Director of Ole Miss First, the University’s newest scholarship initiative, which focuses on the importance of the shared value of family philanthropy.  She is primarily responsible for The Robert C. Khayat Endowment for Ole Miss First, which has a $100,000.00 goal for unrestricted scholarships.

       Through her book packaging company, Ellen Rolfes Books, Inc., she specializes in community cookbooks for non-profit organizations, thus creating a book genre for New York trade publishers including Simon & Schuster, Doubleday, and G.P. Putnam Sons. Several of her partnerships include the Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc., the National Council of Negro Women, Inc., the Episcopal Church Women; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. The development of the title, A GRACIOUS PLENTY (Putnam), which was in partnership with the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, initially brought her to The University of Mississippi.

     She is former Director of the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis and a member of Leadership Memphis and the Leadership Academy. Ellen Rolfes was voted one of “50 Women Who Make a Difference” in Women’s News of the Mid-South. She has served as president of the Junior League of Memphis and as a Trustee of the Hutchison School.  She is a founder of Society of Entrepreneurs and was their first woman president. She currently serves as a member of the Business Advisory Board for the School of Business Administration at The University of Mississippi.