The School of Business Administration at the University of Mississippi honored business giants and servant leaders Thursday (Oct. 24) by inducting them into the school’s inaugural Hall of Fame.
Seven individuals who have demonstrated the fundamentals of the school’s mission and vision through their successful careers and service to society were tapped for the Hall of Fame. Two other alumni were honored with outstanding service awards.
Ken Cyree, the school’s dean, introduced the Hall of Fame inductees: Jim Barksdale, of Jackson; the late Frank Rogers Day, of Jackson; Lawrence Farrington, of Ridgeland; Michael Glenn, of Eads, Tennessee; Edith Kelly-Green, of Memphis, Tennessee; Henry Paris, of Oxford; and the late Jack W. “Bouncer” Robertson Jr., of Jackson.
Warner Alford, of Oxford, and Jan Farrington, of Ridgeland, were honored with service awards for their numerous contributions to the school.
“It has been my great pleasure to get to know many of our alumni who have used the education they received at Ole Miss to live out the mission of the school – that is, to improve business and society by inspiring students as well as business and community leaders through advancing knowledge and capabilities,” Cyree said.
“It’s time we honored these nine outstanding individuals for all they have accomplished and have contributed, and we look forward to recognizing more in the future.”
Barksdale, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business in 1965, is board chair and president of Barksdale Management Corp., a private company that manages his investments and philanthropic activities.
He served as president and CEO of Netscape Communications Corp. from January 1995 until the company merged with America Online in March 1999. Following the merger, Barksdale joined the Time Warner board of directors. He sits on the boards of several other companies and foundations.
Barksdale has held other management positions, including CEO at AT&T Wireless Services (formerly McCaw Cellular Communications), president and COO of McCaw Cellular Communications and executive vice president and COO of FedEx Corp.
He established the university’s Barksdale Honors College in 1997 and the Barksdale Reading Institute in 2001. He and his wife, Donna, have supported the Mississippi Principal Corps at Ole Miss to help change the way school principals are trained and provided scholarships at the UM School of Medicine.
After earning a business degree in 1953, Day began a stellar 40-year career in banking. He moved steadily through the ranks of First National Bank (now Trustmark) to become president of its holding company, First Capital Corp., in 1981 and, the bank’s chair and CEO five years later.
In 1978, Day established the Luckyday Foundation. Since 2001, the foundation has awarded more than 6,000 students with four-year Luckyday Scholarships and enrichment programming focused on student success, leadership development and career readiness. Luckyday Scholars can be found at all three of the state’s major public universities.
The Christine and Clarence Day Scholarship in the Ole Miss business school, honoring Day’s parents, is the state’s largest business scholarship. The Luckyday Foundation joined with the Mississippi Bankers Association in 2001 to endow the Frank R. Day/Mississippi Bankers Association Chair of Banking at UM.
Lawrence Farrington graduated from Ole Miss in 1958 with a business degree. After working in the Petroleum Department of Deposit Guaranty National Bank, he left to start his own company, Atwood Alarm Co. He sold the company in 1986 and became a general partner in Vaughey & Vaughey Oil Co. He continues in the oil and gas business and serves on the mTrade Inc. board of directors.
Farrington is a past chair of the Business Advisory Council. He and his wife, Jan, co-founded the Distinguished Entrepreneur Award presented annually and participate in entrepreneur competitions held by the school.
In 1988, he became president of The Hundred Club of Jackson, which assists families of police and firemen killed in the line of duty, and held that position for 15 years. During that time, he co-founded the Gray Cup of Mississippi, which aids families of highway patrolmen killed in the line of duty.
In 2006, he was appointed a commissioner on the Mississippi Arts Commission and remained in that position until 2016. Farrington serves on Now & Ever: The Campaign for Ole Miss steering committee and previously served on the UM Foundation board. He and his wife helped found the UM Institute for the Arts and continue to support its work.
Glenn retired from the FedEx Corp. in 2016 after a 35-year career there. He served as executive vice president, market development and corporate communications, and was a member of the five-person executive committee, responsible for planning and executing the corporation’s strategic business activities.
Glenn also served as president and CEO of FedEx Services, responsible for all marketing, sales, customer service and retail operations for all FedEx Corp. operating companies, including the FedEx Office. He serves as board chair of Lumen Corp. and as a member of the Pentair Corp. board.
Glenn earned a bachelor’s in business from Ole Miss in 1977 and later an MBA from the University of Memphis. He provides leadership on several charitable boards, including Church Health, Madonna Learning Center and Youth Programs Inc.
He is vice president on the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation Board of Governors, former board chair of the UM Foundation and steering committee member of the Now & Ever Campaign for Ole Miss.
With her affinity for numbers, Kelly-Green pursued an accounting degree at Ole Miss. In 1974, she was hired by Touche Ross (now Deloitte), then one of the Big Eight accounting firms, becoming the first African American on the professional staff. She was quickly promoted to senior auditor.
In 1977, Kelly-Green began her almost 30-year career with FedEx Corp. where she served in several key roles and was the first African American female vice president at FedEx. She also received three Five Star Awards, the company’s highest performance recognition.
She retired in 2003 and founded The KGR Group, whose primary investments are Lenny’s Grill & Subs franchises and Wimpy’s Burger and Fries restaurants in Memphis.
Kelly-Green serves on several boards of NYSE companies and is a member of the Methodist Le Bonheur Health Care board. She is the founding chair of the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy and has endowed multiple scholarships.
Paris a Lexington native, earned a business degree from Ole Miss in 1952 and served two years in the U.S. Air Force before earning an MBA from Michigan State University.
He began working for Lewis Grocer and Sunflower Food Stores, where he served as vice president. He transitioned into banking, serving as president and CEO of Planters Bank and Trust in Indianola for 35 years.
In 1975, Paris founded the Delta Invitational Tennis Tournament which has grown into the state’s longest, continuous one-day fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.
Paris’ passion for Ole Miss continued over the years as he served as chair of the UM Foundation board in 1988. He and his son, Lee, co-headed the fundraising and completion of the Paris-Yates Chapel, which was built on campus in 2001.
Robertson graduated with a business degree in 1953. In 1995, he and his wife, the late Gwenette Phillips Robertson, established the Jack W. and Gwenette P. Robertson Chair of Insurance in the business school.
Robertson’s career in the insurance industry spanned seven decades. In 1970, he founded Gulf Guaranty Life Insurance Co., as well Gulf Guaranty Employee Benefit Services and Gulfpak Insurance Co. He served as president, board chair and/or CEO of each.
Robertson understood the importance of education, which inspired him to set up a program that provides scholarships to any college for the children and grandchildren of Gulf Guaranty employees.
Gwenette Robertson once told a story of her husband’s generosity during a dinner out. Their waitress shared her financial challenges and before the meal was over, he committed to giving her a scholarship to a local community college.
Alford dedicated over half his life to Ole Miss, from his football playing and coaching days to executive leadership roles, including athletics director.
When Alford took over the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics in 1978, he became one of the nation’s youngest ADs. He directed the multimillion-dollar department for 16 years.
Alford served on the NCAA Council as president-elect of the Division I-A Athletics Directors Association, as first vice president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, as chair of the CFA Athletic Directors Committee and as a member of the CFA board of directors.
After retiring as AD in 1994, Alford held positions with the UM Foundation, the Trent Lott Leadership Institute and the Office of Development. He served as executive director of the Ole Miss Alumni Association from 2004 to 2008, overseeing significant growth.
Jan Farrington graduated from Ole Miss in 1965 with a bachelor’s in secondary education and went on to teach in an inner-city high school and work at a bank. In 1986, she helped found Medical Support & Development Organization Inc. and serves as its executive director.
Farrington served on the Innovate Mississippi board of directors for many years and was chair. Her work with this organization and her husband’s connection with the business school piqued her interest in the Entrepreneurship Program, which continues to be a point of pride for the school.
Farrington was the first woman to serve as UM Foundation board chair and is an emeritus member. She served as president of the Alumni Association and is on the executive board. She was a founding member and former chair of the Ole Miss Women’s Council. Additionally, she serves on the steering committee of the Now & Ever Campaign and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College advisory board.
Farrington provides leadership on the mTrade Inc. board and the Baptist Anderson Medical Center board. She is secretary of the Mortar Board National Foundation and is a supporter of its Tassels Chapter at Ole Miss.
For more information on supporting the School of Business Administration, contact Angela Brown, executive director for development, at browna@olemiss.edu or 662-915-3181.
By Tina H. Hahn/UM Development