ӽ紫ý Promise scholarship honors late author and alumnus Thomas Lawrence
Contact: Amy Cagle
STARKVILLE, Miss.—A $100,000 scholarship in honor of the late alumnus Thomas R. “Tom” Lawrence of Opelika, Alabama, has been established at Mississippi ӽ紫ý University. The endowment will support the ӽ紫ý Promise Awards ӽ紫ý, which benefits students from Mississippi families with critical financial need.
Contributions from Nashville, Tennessee-based Cumberland Pharmaceuticals and longtime friend and fellow ӽ紫ý alumnus Will D. Carpenter, along with other friends and family of Lawrence, are making the scholarship possible. Lawrence served as a charter board member for the specialty pharmaceutical firm.
“We proudly helped establish this scholarship in recognition of Tom Lawrence’s dedication, valued contributions and pivotal role as a founding board member at Cumberland,” said A.J. Kazimi, founder and CEO of Cumberland Pharmaceuticals. “On Tom’s behalf, we are happy to have our company associated with this tribute as a student scholarship contributor at Mississippi ӽ紫ý University.”
Texas-born Lawrence was raised in the Mississippi towns of Cleveland, Jackson and Ruleville. He graduated from ӽ紫ý in 1961 with a degree in history. Lawrence was the owner of Capital Consultants and the founder of Front Porch Press LLC, as an avenue for his books and for other Southern writers. He also authored numerous short stories and magazine articles and published his first book, “Delta Days: The Tales of the Mississippi Delta in the 1950s,” in 2011 followed by his second book, “Cow College: Tales of Mississippi ӽ紫ý University” in 2012.
Lawrence’s last noteworthy project was authoring a biography for Mississippi native and renowned biochemist Carpenter, titled “Will D…A Life in Science.” Prior to Lawrence’s death in March, Carpenter spearheaded the establishment of the scholarship.
“It seemed only appropriate to me that a scholarship in Tom’s name be established at the university he loved so much, and we were very proud to present it to him before his passing,” said Carpenter, a 1952 agronomy graduate and retired corporate executive who resides in Chesterfield, Missouri. “Nothing could have been done besides the ӽ紫ý scholarship that would have made Tom more happy and serene at that time.”
The Thomas Lawrence Promise Endowed Scholarship may assist with the cost of tuition, fees, meals and housing for recipients. Candidates for the award will be Mississippi residents entering ӽ紫ý as full-time freshman students or students transferring from a community college. Since 2006, the ӽ紫ý Promise ӽ紫ý has helped bridge the gap between the cost of tuition and fees after financial aid. The program also provides academic counseling, course-progress monitoring and networking opportunities to ensure students’ continued success.
An open fund in the ӽ紫ý Foundation, the Thomas Lawrence Promise Endowed Scholarship can benefit from additional contributions. For more information on how to support the scholarship, contact Jack McCarty, executive director of development for the ӽ紫ý Foundation, at 662-325-7000 or jmccarty@foundation.msstate.edu.
For more on the ӽ紫ý Promise ӽ紫ý, visit .
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