Alumni Association Names 2021 Distinguished Award Recipients

July 13, 2021

Eight to be Honored at Homecoming for Achievement, Service

The Ole Miss Alumni Association is honoring eight distinguished alumni with its highest annual awards as part of Homecoming 2021 recognition of their service and accomplishments.

University of Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame inductees for 2021 are: Coolidge Ball (BRL 75) of Oxford; Dan Goodgame (BA 75) of San Antonio, Texas; Richard C. O’Ferrall Jr. (BBA 57) of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee; Michael H. Stewart (BA 75, MCJ 78) of Oxford; and Judy Trott (BSHPE 1961, MEd 64, EdD 72) of Oxford.

Created in 1974, the Hall of Fame honors select alumni who have made an outstanding contribution to their country, state or the University of Mississippi through good deeds, services or contributions that have perpetuated the good name of Ole Miss.

Bill Gates (BBA 67) of Oxford will receive the Alumni Service Award for service to the university and the Alumni Association over an extended period.

Hunter Howell (BSChE 07) of Beaumont, Texas, will receive the Outstanding Young Alumni Award, which honors alumni who have shown exemplary leadership throughout their first 15 years of alumni status in both their careers and dedication to Ole Miss.

Gloria Dodwell Kellum of Oxford will receive the Honorary Alumni Award, which recognizes individuals who, though not graduates of the University of Mississippi, have consistently demonstrated extraordinary commitment, support, dedication, loyalty, leadership or service that has enriched the substance of and contributed to the advancement of the university’s or Alumni Association’s missions, reputation or prestige.

 “We are excited to celebrate some of the university’s most successful and notable alumni and friends after losing that chance last year due to COVID-19,” said Ole Miss Alumni Association Executive Director Kirk Purdom (BA 93). “These inductees stand out both with their accomplishments in their careers and with their service to Ole Miss and their communities.”

The Alumni Association will host a gala for the honorees on Thursday, Oct. 7, in the Gertrude C. Ford Ballroom at The Inn at Ole Miss.

Those interested in attending the dinner should register in advance by calling the Alumni Association office at 662-915-7375. Individual seats are $100 per person while space is available. Reserved tables of 10 are available for $1,000. $25 from the sale of each individual seat, and $250 from the sale of each reserved table will go toward the Herb Dewees Alumni Association Scholarship.

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