Gift will create reading institute

$100 million donation by Barksdales will help Mississippi kids learn to read

Chris Thompson
Dm Editor

University officials confirmed Wednesday what most people on campus already knew: alumni James and Sally Barksdale are giving $100 million to establish an education institute at Ole Miss.

The donation could be the largest donation ever given to a Mississippi university.

"It humbles some of us beyond belief," said Gloria Kellum, Ole Miss' vice chancellor for university relations. "It's not just for the university; it's for the whole state of Mississippi."

According to a university press release, the Barksdale Reading Institute will help research better ways to teach elementary-level children how to read. The institute will also provide education grants for the state's other public colleges and universities.

The University of Mississippi Foundation, a private foundation that handles most donations to Ole Miss, will manage the $100 million gift.

"I'm proud that the University of Mississippi Foundation can be the vehicle through which this kind of program can work," said foundation President Don Fruge. "It is designed to give back something to the state of Mississippi to improve the quality of life for an untold number of citizens."

University officials plan to announce more about the donation today at a news conference in Jackson. Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Khayat are expected to attend the news conference with the Barksdales.

Kellum said officials are also expecting members of the national media to be present for the announcement. The Barksdales have already participated in an interview with NBC-TV, which plans to air a report about the donation on tonight's "NBC Nightly News With Tom Brokaw."

James Barksdale, who is the former chief executive officer of Netscape, currently serves on the board of directors for America Online and several other Internet and computer technology companies.

He and his wife have already donated over $7 million to the university. Their $5.4 million donation in 1996 helped create the McDonnell-Barksdale Honors College, and last year the couple gave $2 million for minority scholarships at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Today's news conference comes one week after university officials announced that Ole Miss received a donation worth $31.8 million from an anonymous donor during the fall semester.