McRae Foundation commits $4M to Millsaps College

The Selby and Richard McRae Foundation has donated $4 million to Millsaps College, accelerating a campaign to renovate the school’s Christian Center at Millsaps College.

The Christian Center, a fixture on the campus of the private Methodist-affiliated college since its construction in the 1950s, is scheduled for a renovation that will establish new classrooms and office space for the Humanities division, a new 175-seat lecture hall and a new chapel and center for the chaplaincy on campus.

Renovation of the Christian Center is anticipated to begin sometime in the 2017-18 academic year. Upon completion, the building will be rededicated as the Selby and Richard McRae Christian Center, according to a Millsaps news release.

The McRae Foundation was established in 1965 to support the arts, education and social service organizations in central Mississippi. It is managed by the couple’s children —Richard D. McRae Jr., Susan McRae Shanor and Vaughan W. McRae.

“Our parents were committed to Millsaps for many reasons — including its Methodist heritage and progressive intellectual approach to social issues as reflected in the professors and speakers who are part of the Center’s historic fabric,” the McRae siblings wrote in a letter announcing the gift. “We can think of no better way to honor our parents and their commitment to Millsaps.”

Previous gifts to Millsaps from the McRae Foundation include an endowed scholarship for undergraduate students and a chair of business administration in the Else School of Management.

Millsaps President Robert W. Pearigen, president of Millsaps College, expressed gratitude for the McRaes' dedication to the college.

“This is an extraordinary gift for Millsaps,” Pearigen said in the news release, “and we are honored that the legacy of Selby Watkins McRae, a 1946 graduate of Millsaps, and Richard McRae, a long-time trustee of the college, will live on as part of this historic building.”