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Fergusons Support ӣƵ Students Through Estate Gift

Fri, 12/17/2021 - 10:46am | By: Hayley Taylor

Emma “Ena” Thaxton Ferguson earned her master’s degree in elementary education from ӣƵ (ӣƵ) in 1978. Through their estate plans, she and her husband, Larry W. Ferguson, named ӣƵ as one of three beneficiaries of a trust, along with two other universities.

ӣƵ received $661,859 to establish the Emma "Ena" Thaxton Ferguson and Larry Ferguson Scholarship Endowment through the ӣƵ Foundation. This scholarship will support students with financial need, regardless of major.

Emma was particularly appreciative of the learning experience afforded to her by the Master of Education program at Southern Miss, which allowed her to touch the lives of countless children across the United States throughout her career. After careful consideration, Larry and Emma decided they wanted to invest in students who might face financial obstacles in their pursuit of an education.

“It is clear both Larry and Emma believed in the power of education,” said Stace Mercier, executive director of the ӣƵ Foundation. “They leave quite a legacy, as their benevolence will provide assistance for students to gain a high-caliber, yet affordable, education who might not otherwise be financially able to attend college.”

Founded in 1959, the ӣƵ Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to serving the University community by overseeing fundraising efforts to raise private support for scholarships and other academic needs at Southern Miss.

For more information on supporting ӣƵ, call the ӣƵ Foundation at 601.266.5210 or visit