Located on a campus that offers more than academics; an ever-changing, evolving curriculum; easy access to faculty and staff; and national prominence — those are the qualities University of Mississippi alumnus Kit Williams loves about his alma mater’s Patterson School of Accountancy.
“It’s great to be able to tell someone, ‘We’re perpetually ranked in the top 10,’ and hear them respond with, ‘Really? You can get all that Ole Miss has to offer plus an outstanding education?!’ said Williams, a 1979 UM accountancy graduate from Dallas, Texas.
Williams and his wife, Nancy, recently made a $100,000 gift in support of the Patterson School’s new building. Their gift will be recognized by the naming of its southwest exterior corridor in their honor.
“I hope our gift will help students have the same opportunity I had for a great education that includes a lot of interaction with faculty,” said Williams, president of RTW Financial Advisors. “I also hope it will help maintain that top-10 ranking.”
The new $125 million Patterson School will be constructed at the prominent corner of University Avenue and Grove Loop. Its 110,000 square feet will house classrooms, study spaces, administrative and faculty office suites, outdoor spaces and tiered auditoriums.
Mark Wilder, dean of the Patterson School of Accountancy, praised the Williamses’ support.
“Kit and Nancy are exceptional people, and wonderful friends of the Patterson School. We are grateful for their generous gift as well as their strong belief in the top-tier education we are providing Ole Miss accountancy students,” the dean said.
“We believe our new building will be the premier accountancy facility in the nation and will move the Patterson School to even higher levels of excellence and prestige,” he continued. “We greatly appreciate all the support Kit and Nancy have provided to us over the years.”
As an Ole Miss student, president of the business school student body and member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, Williams enjoyed interaction with two professors in particular — Gene Peery and Jimmy Davis who both taught him accounting and took him to the dog track in Arkansas.
“It’s amazing what you can learn about what’s going on in your accounting school and the campus and about life. So I learned a lot on those car rides to West Memphis to go to the dog races,” said Williams of his time with faculty outside the classroom.
That student-faculty interaction exists even today at Ole Miss and was punctuated further for Williams when his daughter, Mary Williams Bilyeu, was completing her accountancy degree.
“I mean, it was amazing for her to be able to just call up the dean and ask if she can get into a certain class. And he said, ‘Yes, I’ll just open it up for you,’” Williams recalled. “I think that’s tremendous.”
The 2013 UM graduate earned her master’s degree in accountancy from Ole Miss in 2014 and is now senior manager for PWC in Dallas. Her husband, Jeff, earned a managerial finance degree from UM the same year and is the director of finance of Take Command Health in Dallas. They have two children.
The Williamses’ son, Scott, attended the University of Arkansas. He and his wife, Audrey, now live in Hawaii and have one son.
After college, Kit Williams, a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, moved to Dallas to work for Ernst & Ernst. There, he met Nancy Steed who had earned her accounting degree at Southern Methodist University and would become his wife.
In December 1990, Williams and his business partner started RTW — a company that focuses on providing investment management, concierge accounting and bookkeeping for families in Dallas.
“It actually goes back to Nancy and I starting a bookkeeping business with the advent of the Compaq computer so Nancy could be a stay-at-home mom. I probably went blind looking at the little green screen,” Williams said, laughing. “This business exploded and we are blessed to serve many families in Dallas and surrounding states.
“That’s a big part of our business and really exciting,” he said. “It’s been an honor to help families achieve their financial dreams. And, you know, the Ole Miss accounting school gave me the tools to be able to follow my passion and the dream that I had.”
In their free time, the Williamses enjoy returning to campus to support the Rebels and spending time with their grandchildren. And a while back, Kit Williams traded time on the golf course for time on his tractor — “It’s my therapy” — bushhogging his Texas land where he also hunts and fishes.
To make a gift to the Patterson School of Accountancy Building Fund, contact Jason McCormick, executive director for development, at jason@olemiss.edu or 662-915-1757; or visit online here.
By Bill Dabney/UM Foundation