At Wofford College, the buildings, the sculptures, faculty and staff positions, scholarships, programs — even the trees — tell stories. And all of those stories are made possible by people whose philanthropy makes a difference every day for current students.
BY JO ANN MITCHELL BRASINGTON ’89, JAKE CROUSE AND ANNA LEE ’08
A focus on academic excellence
THE MOTIVE BEHIND THE HOYS’ LATEST GIFT FOR FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
“This is why we’re all here.”
When Laura Jackson Hoy served as chair of the Wofford College Board of Trustees Committee on Academics, she started each committee meeting and report to the full board with those words. The reminder of the college’s central, intellectual purpose made everyone sit up a bit straighter, partly because everyone knew those were more than words for Laura.
The Hoy Endowed Fund for Faculty Development — a new fund established by Laura and Winston Hoy — demonstrates once again “why we’re all here.”
Designed to inspire, reward and retain the teachers and scholars whose work is at the core of the college, the fund will provide three- to five-year grants of up to $10,000 per year to support Wofford professors who want to enrich their scholarship, research or pedagogical practices. The president and provost will award the grants based on nominations from department chairs or faculty committees.
“We feel so strongly about this,” says Laura. “When Calhoun Kennedy came to Winston and me with a proposal for a faculty development fund, it didn’t take a lot for us to say yes. We need to invest in teachers.”
The Hoy Endowed Fund for Faculty Development is the first of its kind at Wofford, says Kennedy ’89, vice president for philanthropy and engagement. “It helps grow the college’s endowment while making an immediate impact in support of the faculty. Again, Laura and Winston Hoy are leading the way in their support of academic excellence,” says Kennedy, who shares that others who are also passionate about their philanthropic efforts supporting faculty are working on similar plans.
The Hoys and their extended families — the Chapmans and the Jacksons — have a history of lending their financial support to the college’s academic program; many have graduated from Wofford to find professional success and pay their gratitude forward. The legacy includes Laura’s Chapman cousin, Dr. Charlie Cauthen, Class of 1917, who was a professor of history at the college. He had also been a student-athlete on the college’s football team. A cousin from her mother’s side, Herbert Hucks ’34, served as Wofford’s archivist for more than 50 years.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the connections continue with Campbell Hall, a great-nephew from Greensboro, who has enrolled with the Class of 2029. He’ll be at Wofford this fall,” says Laura.
Always deeply involved in the education of their three children — Kathryn; Will ’03, who earned a B.A. in English; and Thomas — Laura was asked to join the college’s President’s Advisory Board after Will became a Terrier. She was a favorite of then President Bernie Dunlap because she was always prepared for meetings. She joined the board of trustees in 2008 and served until 2020.
Laura and Winston have given quietly to a variety of campaigns and causes, always keeping the academic program top of mind. They established the Hoy Professorship in the Humanities in 2007, and Dr. Deno Trakas (English) became the first recipient. Dr. Tracy Revels (history) is the current Hoy Professor. At the time, they also started a professorship at Winston’s alma mater, Vanderbilt University, where their son, Thomas, graduated. Kathryn followed another family tradition and attended Converse College, also a recipient of Hoy generosity.
Winston, who rarely meets a book he doesn’t want to read, is particularly pleased that both Hoy professors are writers. He and Laura have surrounded themselves with shelves, stacks and tables laden with books in their Myrtle Beach home.
“I’ll never get rid of a book I’d like to read,” he says. “You don’t have to catch a fish to enjoy fishing. You just need to be around the water and the fish. That’s the way we are with books.”
Both Laura and Winston grew up in small towns — Tryon and Rutherfordton — just north of Spartanburg. Laura, however, graduated from Spartanburg High School. “I wasn’t the zinger student,” she says, “so, during my sophomore year of high school, I knew I needed to find a way to improve. I went to my mom and dad, who was on the local school board, and told them I’d like to go to high school somewhere else. I’d heard Spartanburg High School was ranked highly in the nation, so I decided I’d like to go there.”
She crossed district, county and state lines to go to a school that would challenge her academically. She excelled and went on to graduate from Converse College then begin a career in banking in Charlotte, N.C.
“Laura was the first woman to be hired by First Union in the management training program,” says Winston, with no small amount of pride. “I worked at a county bank in Rutherfordton. When we told people we were planning our marriage, the North Carolina Bankers Association magazine made an engagement announcement about a First Union and Northwestern bank merger. The merger actually did happen about 10 years later. We predicted it.”
The Hoys have a knack for determining academic success as well, and they are eager to watch Wofford reap the benefits of their philanthropy.
“We give, and we receive from that,” says Laura, who also enjoys watching the next generation of family become involved in causes close to their hearts. Laura’s grandmother, Laura Chapman Jackson of Spartanburg; her mother, Mary Emily Platt Jackson, and many of her sisters, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces and in-laws have been a part of the legacy of education in Spartanburg. “We’ve been very fortunate, so giving is part of what our family does. We’re proud of it. It makes us feel good.”
Funding scholarly LEADERSHIP
WILLIMON ENDOWS PROVOST POSITION AT WOFFORD COLLEGE
Bishop Will Willimon ’68 believes that the strong student-faculty connections he experienced as a student at Wofford College are still the hallmark of a great college education. The endowment of the Willimon Family Provost Fund and Professorship is both a thank you for the experience he and his family had as Terriers and a promise that Wofford’s top academic officer will always have the support to lead the best faculty, who, in turn, will guide the best students.
The fund was created as a result of conversations between Willimon; his wife, Patsy; and their children, Harriet Willimon Putman ’99 and William Parker Willimon ’98.
“I have a deep gratitude for Wofford and what it meant for me,” Willimon says. “It set me on a course of academic endeavor and an intellectual life.”
Willimon’s funding allows for sustainable financial support for the salary of the provost position, which frees the annual dollars that once supported the role to be used to further the college’s reputation of academic excellence.
Dr. Timothy Schmitz, provost and professor of history, is first to hold the Willimon Family Provost position.
“Will Willimon and his family have been generous friends of Wofford for decades. Will has actively served the United Methodist Church and Duke University as a professor and as dean of the chapel. He’s also a longtime member of the Wofford College Board of Trustees. He understands academic excellence and the critical importance of education to our greater society,” says Schmitz. “I could not be more honored to be the first to hold this position.”
Willimon, an influential preacher and theologian, attributes much of his professional success to lessons learned in Wofford classrooms.
Dr. Vince Miller, professor of English emeritus at Wofford, had Willimon write an essay each week — his first intensive training in the practice of writing. Willimon has gone on to author nearly 100 books as well as essays and papers, many of them on Christian theology. A Pew Trust survey ranked him as the second most widely read theologian among American pastors. Wofford’s Sandor Teszler Library archives holds the Willimon papers, which are available to review and study.
Willimon also recalls turning in a paper during his senior year to the Rev. Dr. Charlie Barrett ’55, who taught in Wofford’s religion department for 33 years. Barrett gave Willimon an A, but he thought Willimon was recycling ideas and not challenging himself to think critically. With the A, Barrett admonished Willimon that he wouldn’t be so easy on him next time.
“Most professors can’t say that kind of thing because they don’t know someone down deep,” Willimon says. “I just think that’s the essence of higher education: Students who are known, taught by faculty who are known, take the trouble and the time to get to know one another.”
Wofford has additional ties with the Willimon family. Carl Parker ’38 and Don Parker ’69 — Patsy’s father and brother — attended Wofford. The sonnet bench featuring Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 near the Sandor Teszler Library was Will’s gift to Patsy for their 25th wedding anniversary. The Willimons were responsible for securing a Holtkamp organ, which was once in the Duke chapel, for Wofford’s Leonard Auditorium, and the William H. Willimon and Patricia Parker Willimon Scholarship at Yale Divinity School gives preference to incoming students who are graduates of Wofford. Will rotated off the college’s board of trustees in June after 36 years of leadership.
Willimon is also the official, unofficial ambassador for Wofford graduates who go on to Duke for graduate school, showing them around campus and inviting them to his home for a meal and conversation.
“I proudly point out to all new arrivals at Duke the Wofford seal atop the Duke Union building. There’s ‘Old Main’ forever memorializing the Wofford-Duke connection,” says Willimon.
And now there’s the Willimon Family Provost and Professorship at Wofford College, forever honoring the studentfaculty relationships that are at the heart of the Wofford experience.
Remembered among the trees
Since the beginning, Wofford people have understood the significance of honoring or memorializing the Wofford faithful with gifts to the college. Some of those donations are designated; some are not. They range in size. They may be one-time contributions spurred by an obituary or gifts made annually for a birthday, anniversary or Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
Now, philanthropists have an option to celebrate someone they love within Wofford’s arboretum.
The Commemorative Tree Program gives individuals or groups the option of creating a living memorial or place of honor for someone they love with a gift of $5,000 or more. The donations will be placed in the Wofford Fund endowment or the Terrier Club endowment, permanently giving Wofford the flexibility to use these funds for the college’s greatest, immediate needs.
When Camp Arnett ’13 died unexpectedly on June 26, 2024, his Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity brothers honored him with gifts to the college. A tree in the college’s arboretum will soon have a tag with Arnett’s name.
“Since Wofford is the place that brought us all together, our fraternity strongly felt that dedicating a tree on our college’s beautiful campus would be a fitting way to celebrate the life of our brother Camp,” says Blair Reath ’10.
According to Calhoun Kennedy ’89, vice president for philanthropy and engagement, commemorative trees will carry a tag with GPS coordinates for a decade, and the college will be responsible for care or replacement if something happens to the tree within those 10 years. Wofford’s director of horticulture and landscape design will work with donors to identify a location and a tree type that fits the college’s landscape plan. Timing, nursery stock and soil type are also part of the selection process.
“It’s a growing tribute and a place people can return and remember,” says Kennedy.
For more information, contact Elizabeth Shuler at 864-597-4202 or shulereb@wofford.edu.
SPIRIT OF ‘JUNEBUG’ LIVES ON IN SCHOLARSHIP
MCLAIN CREATES ENDOWED FUND TO HONOR HIS MOTHER
Everyone on the Wofford baseball team knew June Williams “Junebug” McLain when her son, Chad McLain ’91, was a pitcher for the Terriers. Thanks to a generous gift by McLain, future generations of baseball players at Wofford will know her, too.
The newly established June Williams McLain Endowed Scholarship Fund will provide scholarships for members of the Wofford baseball team. McLain has had conversations through the years with Calhoun Kennedy ’89, former teammate and vice president for philanthropy and engagement, regarding ways to honor his mother and support Wofford.
“I’ve always wanted to be able to do something to give back, and Calhoun was able to articulate that vision,” McLain says. “Getting to make this a permanent thing at Wofford in honor of my mom, that’s a huge deal to me.”
McLain says June was extremely generous with her time and service to others, including him and his younger brother, Scott. After she and McLain’s father divorced when McLain was about 10 years old, June saw that her sons were able to attend private school in Orangeburg, S.C. While McLain was at Wofford, June made the nearly 250- mile round trip from Orangeburg to Spartanburg to attend the majority of his home games.
“She was always a fan. She always made sure we had what we needed,” says McLain, who was inducted into the Wofford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002. “Everybody knew June. Everybody loved June.”
In 1998, at just 56 years old, June died suddenly from a heart attack. It changed the course of McLain’s life and career. Following his graduation from Wofford, he took a job as a baseball coach and teacher at Calhoun Academy in St. Matthews, S.C., before spending a few years working at State Farm. June’s passing made him come to terms with how short life is and the goals he wanted to achieve.
“I wanted to try to make the most of the time I have on Earth, and trying to get my law degree was one of those things I wanted to do,” McLain says. “Her death, oddly enough, caused me to believe I could do that.”
McLain earned his J.D. from the University of Tulsa College of Law. He began practicing law in 2002, and he is now a partner at Graves McLain Injury Lawyers in Tulsa, Okla. He serves various organizations in the area, including Tulsa Lawyers for Children, which provides pro bono representation for children who have been removed from homes by the Department of Human Services. He has also served on the boards of the Tulsa County Bar Association and the Tulsa County Bar Foundation.
In 2024, to further honor his mom, McLain created an event benefiting the American Heart Association using a different kind of “bar.”
“Some friends of mine basically dared me to get my bartender’s license and food service license and bartend for a fundraiser at one of our local bars and restaurants,” McLain says.
So began the annual Junebug #HeartParty, a brunch fundraiser in which McLain serves three or four personal cocktail recipes. It raised $13,000 in its first year and $20,000 this year.
“June’s spirit of giving inspired Chad to give back, and Wofford baseball players will benefit from that legacy, with her name living on at the college,” says Kennedy.
“She basically sacrificed her life for ours. That’s maybe a romantic view of it because she’s been gone for so long, but that’s what I believe,” McLain says. “It made me want to do something to give back to her and in memory of her, and the June Williams McLain Endowed Scholarship Fund was the perfect opportunity.”
Sharing the WOFFORD WAY
LACKEYS MAKE $1 MILLION ESTATE GIFT TO SUPPORT NEW ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP
Eager to share the Wofford experience with others, Michael ’81 and Susan Morrison Lackey ’81 have established an endowed scholarship at Wofford and committed $1 million from their estate to maximize the impact of the fund. The Michael and Susan Lackey Endowed Scholarship Fund will provide needbased financial aid, with preference given to students who are engaged in the community.
The impact of such a gift will be everlasting, says Dylan Goshorn ’22, associate director of philanthropy at Wofford.
“Gifts to the endowment are one of the highest priorities of the college. Wofford is so grateful for the generosity that the Lackeys have shown through this indelible gift,” Goshorn says.
Michael and Susan met their senior year through a mutual friend and classmate, Roberta Hurley ’81, now Wofford’s senior vice president of administration and secretary to the board of trustees. They immediately hit it off.
Michael, who majored in government, was president of Kappa Sigma fraternity and involved in Wofford Theatre. Susan, an economics major, was part of the second class of residential women and a charter member of Kappa Delta sorority.
After graduating, the Lackeys became active in prospective student recruitment and often volunteered at college fairs. They were also big supporters of Wofford’s football team, traveling to out-of-state games with other alumni or faculty, such as Dr. Lee Hagglund, the late Dr. John Pilley and Dr. Joe Lesesne, president emeritus.
“We’ve lived in a lot of different places — Atlanta, Hilton Head, Tampa, Chattanooga — but we’ve always had that same connection to Wofford,” Susan says.
In establishing the scholarship, the Lackeys want to make it as accessible as possible to students, which is why the fund only has one criterion: It gives preference to students who volunteer within their community because, Susan says, “that’s the Wofford way.”
It’s a value that they continue to live daily. Michael is a member of the Terrier Club and volunteers at Episcopal Church of the Advent, while Susan teaches algebra at the Adult Learning Center in Spartanburg a few times a week.
“Wofford is the sort of place where you are part of a community, and you’re interacting with people in that community every day,” Michael says. “I want to be able to pass that kind of experience on to other people.”
The Lackeys’ gift epitomizes the spirit of generosity and fellowship that makes Wofford special, says Elliott Cooper ’04, director of philanthropy for the college. “They are investing in their alma mater and ensuring its success in recruiting thoughtful, community-minded students,” Cooper says. “This is truly a gift from the heart that will change the lives of young people forever.”
The first scholarship from the Michael and Susan Lackey Endowed Scholarship Fund will be awarded for the fall semester of the 2025-26 academic year.
Endowed gifts
WOFFORD OFFERS THREE WAYS TO ESTABLISH A PERMANENTLY ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP:
- A minimum donation of $50,000, payable over up to five years.
- A commitment of $25,000, payable over five years, combined with an estate plan for an additional $100,000.
- Alumni under the age of 40 may establish an endowed fund with a minimum donation of $25,000, payable over up to five years.
In memory of DR. BILL KELLETT ’62
KELLETTS PAVE THE WOFFORD WAY TO MEDICAL SCHOOL
Drs. Bill ’62, Jimmy (Davidson College) and Mike Kellett ’66 grew up in the shadow of the old Greenville (S.C.) General Hospital. The brothers passed along the same first job — a paper route through the neighborhood hospital — then found work in the hospital during college.
Mike followed Bill to Wofford; they were the third generation of Kelletts to graduate. Both Jimmy and Mike followed Bill to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
“I followed him to grammar school, middle school, high school, college, medical school and residency, then to practice obstetrics and gynecology in Greenville,” says Mike. “It was a good decision on my part because he was a great leader.”
They practiced together for 32 years.
“Bill was deeply appreciative that Mike followed him. They were very compatible and very close, absolutely the best friends,” says Lydia Kellett, Bill’s widow. “Bill made it easy for people. He was a gentle soul who made people feel better. No matter the circumstances, he took the time and gave people something to hang their hat on.”
When Bill died in December 2016, Lydia, Mike and other members of the Kellett family decided to honor him by making one of his dreams a reality.
“We had talked with other alumni in Greenville about establishing a scholarship for about 15 years,” says Mike. “Then Bill got sick, and the idea sat for a while. Wofford College, the Greenville community and medical education were three things close to his heart, so establishing a scholarship for a Wofford student to attend University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville is a fitting legacy.”
Dr. Ethan Covil ’19 was the first Kellett Scholar. He’s now a minimally invasive/general surgery resident at Baptist Health in Birmingham, Ala. The scholarship awarded Covil $15,000 each year for the first three years and $25,000 for his final year to assist with medical school tuition and expenses. Covil says the funding gave him freedom to choose a specialty based on his field of interest. “Few modern medical students get to choose a future specialty without regard to money,” he says.
Feng Chen ’24 is the current scholar. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wofford with majors in biology, business and chemistry.
Chen appreciates the scholarship as well, which will allow her to leave medical school with less debt. She is also grateful for the intangibles that the Kellett family offers.
“No one in my family has ever gone into medicine, so it’s nice to have that connection with Dr. Mike and Lydia Kellett,” says Chen. “Their mentorship has been an unexpected bonus.”
Like Chen, the Kellett brothers were the first to attend medical school in their family.
“Outstanding Wofford grads who exemplify Bill’s spirit of leadership and service and who demonstrate need have first preference for the Kellett Scholarship,” says Jenn Maness, director of healthcare philanthropy at Prisma Health-Upstate Foundation, administrator of the William W. Kellett III, MD Scholarship Endowment in partnership with the medical school. “With both Ethan and Feng, the choice was clear.”
According to Maness, the Kellett Scholarship is USCSOM Greenville’s largest alumni scholarship. Lydia; Mike and his wife, Joan; the Kellett Family Foundation, as well as about 75 other Terriers and other friends and church members, have contributed and continue to give in Bill’s memory.
“It’s been said that Bill and Mike delivered half the babies in Greenville,” says Lydia. “Their education at Wofford and in medical school was rich, and when they were practicing, they had a great part in the teaching and residency program at Prisma. They had a heart for teaching and education.”
Even as a busy practicing physician, Bill volunteered at the Greenville Free Medical Clinic, and he and Lydia worked to stabilize addicted newborns as Department of Social Services licensed foster care parents. They served on medical mission trips across the globe for 25 years, and, in retirement, cooked breakfast each week for Greenville’s homeless. Mike also continues to volunteer with Mill Village Ministries.
“You can see the Kellett family’s commitment to the community trickling into the scholarship and setting an example for the recipients,” says Maness.
While Mike, Lydia and Joan enjoy spending time with Chen, they are careful not to put expectations on her other than to work hard and do her best. “Which she certainly does. She’s spectacular,” says Mike. That commitment is something that has been passed down from generation to generation in the Kellett family.
“My parents taught us that giving back is what you’re supposed to do,” says Mike. “If you’re not going to do it, who will?”
The Kelletts hope that the scholarship fund will continue to grow, eventually providing a full scholarship for a Wofford graduate to study medicine at USCSOM Greenville.