Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A recent $2 million bequest from Texas native Lila Harlow Henry is designed to "enhance Mississippi State's future."
Lila Henry and husband Hunter of San Marcos long have been leading university supporters. To date, the couple's commitments exceed $10 million to the ongoing "State of the Future: The Mississippi State Campaign."
Their generosity has made possible various faculty enhancements, an endowed chair in chemical engineering, a lecture series, and a new alumni and foundation building named in Hunter Henry's honor. They also support student scholarships in the Bagley College of Engineering, and the colleges of Arts and Sciences and Business and Industry.
Lila Henry, a native of Port Arthur, Texas, is a Southern Methodist University art graduate. She married the Canton native and chemical engineering major in 1951, a year after he had graduated from MSU. They are the parents of three sons.
Her bequest is being made through the MSU Foundation's Donor-Advised Fund Program. As with many others, the gift is designated through the separate, nonprofit corporation formed in 2000 and modeled on similar programs offered by some community foundations and financial brokerage firms.
"Donor-advised funds are quite common in the private sector," said Dennis A. Prescott, MSU vice president for external affairs. "The MSU version works just like those in that donors may make an irrevocable gift to the fund and take an immediate tax deduction, but may wait until later to make final decisions about the distribution of funds."
The gift funds may benefit MSU programs, or they may be directed to other qualified charitable organizations.
Lila Henry's philanthropy also extends to two Texas institutions. An SMU scholarship bears her name, while another gift to Lamar University in Beaumont honors her relatives. These awards annually support students in nursing, engineering and veterinary medicine.
Hunter Henry, the retired president of Dow Chemical USA, earlier enrolled in MSU's donor-advised program. He currently serves as steering committee vice chair for "State of the Future," which is seeking to raise $400 million in private support for the university by 2009.
For more information on MSU's Donor-Advised Fund Program, contact Prescott at (662) 325-9306.