Endowed Scholarships

The Alumni Association Endowed Scholarship Fund reached endowment in 2016 as a result of the Scramble for Scholarships Golf Tournament hosted by the MDCC Alumni Association. In addition to the annual scholarship tournament, alumni and friends support the scholarship year-round with gifts to the fund.

The Arant Family Endowed Scholarship was established in 2016 by Mr. & Mrs. Turner Arant of Blaine, Miss. Mr. & Mrs. Arant are long-time supporters of MDCC with Mr. Arant serving on the MDCC Foundation Board of Directors since its inception.

Established by BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc., in 2002, the scholarship benefits students pursuing education or business-related majors.

The Burnadette McDonald Endowed Scholarship was established by the Delta Regional Foundation on behalf of Burnadette McDonald for her outstanding contributions in the field of coaching and for the positive influence on hundreds of young ladies she encountered during her 29 years of coaching.

The Carl & Brenda Grubb Scholarship was established in honor of retired faculty members and supports sophomore students majoring in a science-related field. Together, Mr. & Mrs. Grubb have 72 years of service to MDCC.

The Cecil and Sissie Culpepper Pay It Forward Fund was established in 2020 by Beth Keating and Ryan Culpepper in memory of their parents Cecil and Sissy Culpepper. Cecil was a longtime MDCC History Instructor and veteran of the U.S. Army. The hope is this fund will enable students to continue their education at MDCC and bring them one step closer to their educational and career goals.

The Curtis and Kaye Buchanan Scholarship Fund was established in 2024 by Curtis and Kaye Buchanan. Mr. Curtis Buchanan has served on the MDCC Foundation Board for many years. He and his wife Kaye have been lifelong residents of Washington County. This scholarship was established to benefit students who demonstrate financial need from the MDCC service district. 

The Feigler Scholarship was originally established by Jack Feigler of Gulfport, Miss., and named the Ben Feigler, Sr. Scholarship in honor of his brother, Ben Feigler, Sr., a Greenwood pharmacist. However, following Jack Feigler’s death, the Feigler family renamed the scholarship.

The Gene Gibson Scholarship Fund was established in 2021 by his wife of 58 years, Madolyn Downer Gibson Lewis; his son, Dr. Robert Gibson; daughter, Jeanna Lynn Gibson May; daughter, Angela Gibson Arendsee. Gene attended Sunflower Jr. College, now MDCC, in 1959 & 1960, where he played the tuba in the band. He graduated with a Pharmacy degree from Ole Miss in 1963. He worked with Culley’s and Culley Gibson Drug Stores in Greenville. Later he opened the first in-house pharmacy in Greenville at King’s Daughters Hospital in 1967. Moving to Winona in 1969, he owned McDougal’s and Super G Drug stores retiring in 1994. He served as President of the MS State Board of Pharmacy in 1988. Coming back to Moorhead, Gene and Madolyn opened and started the Christian Student Center at MDCC in 1995. Gene was asked to teach pharmacology in the first graduating Dental Hygiene class in 2003. He remained faithful in ministering to students through the student center until his death on May 29, 2019. He was a member of the Church of Christ.

This scholarship was established in honor of the former Anguilla, Miss. resident Mrs. H. J. Fields.

The Hayden Turner Lee Endowed Scholarship is named in memory of the grandson of Wilton Sanders and the late Virginia Sanders, and son of Laurie Sanders Lee and Thomas Hayden Lee. The scholarship is awarded annually to worthy students who exhibit musical talent and ability. The Hayden Turner Lee Endowed Scholarship fund was established in 2015 by Wilton and Virginia Sanders of Blackhawk, Miss.

The Herbert M. Hargett Scholarship Fund was established in 2014 by family and friends of the late Mr. Herbert Hargett. Hargett is remembered for his contributions to Sunflower Junior College, beginning as a student and outstanding basketball player. Hargett served as Superintendent of Sunflower County Schools for 24 years in addition to serving on both the MDCC Board of Trustees and the MDCC Development Foundation Board of Directors.

Dr. Julia Hill and Dr. Cassey Hardin established this scholarship in 2016 for students enrolled or accepted into the Mississippi Delta Community College’s Dental Hygiene Program.

This scholarship was established by the friends of Coach Randall in memory of his years as both the head coach and Foundation Director (1951-1993) at MDCC.

This scholarship was established through a bequeath of former Indianola businessman and philanthropist, John Hough.

This scholarship was established through a bequeath of former Indianola businessman and philanthropist, John Hough.

The Brumfield family established the Margaret Harris Swayze Brumfield Scholarship in 2015 in memory of Mrs. Margaret Harris Swayze Brumfield.

This scholarship was established by friends and colleagues of Margaret Jackson in honor of her contribution to the college’s medical laboratory program. Jackson was supervisor of the college’s microbiology laboratory and also served as a clinical instructor of microbiology.

This scholarship was established in 2016 to benefit nursing or agriculture majors from Leflore County.

In 2010, Dr. Marilyn A. Marquardt established an endowed scholarship in memory of her mother, Mary Hancock. The Mary Hancock Endowed Scholarship is awarded to a Sunflower County student enrolled in pre-nursing, pharmacy, pre-med or history.

The scholarship was established in 2015 in honor of Mr. & Mrs. Michael Thompson of Cleveland, Miss. Michael “Mickey” Thompson serves on the MDCC Board of Trustees. The scholarship is awarded to a promising student from Bolivar County.

Funded through fundraisers conducted by the Associate Degree Nursing Program, the recipients of this scholarship are selected each semester by MDCC’s nursing faculty.

The Patti Parker Livingston Scholarship Fund was established in 2013 and endowed in 2025 by Mrs. Patti Livingston. Livingston, an MDCC retiree with over 37 years of service to the college, first joined the ranks in 1980 as a freshman associate degree nursing faculty member. During her tenure, Livingston held several leadership positions overseeing MDCC’s health science programs. Mrs. Livingston retired in 2017 from the position of Health Science Division Chair, having supervised all health science programs for over 10 years. Two scholarships are given out each year, one to a nursing student and another to a student in any other of MDCC’s health science programs.n

The King Perkins and William Strong Scholarship was established in 2019 by Russell Cannon and his wife Dr. Cannon. This scholarship is dedicated to King Perkins and William Strong who were Mississippians who did not have the opportunity to complete their college degree but instilled in their family the importance of an education.

The Sam and Kay Newsom Scholarship was established in 2014 by Mr. & Mrs. Newsom of Greenville. This scholarship is awarded to a scholarly student from Washington County.

Established in March of 2014 by the estate of Mr. and Mrs. E. F. Jones, this scholarship in is memory of Sarah Jean Kathleen Jones. Jones, a graduate of Mississippi Delta Junior College, dedicated her life to a career in nursing education, having taught various nursing courses in the Licensed Practical Nursing and Certified Nursing Assistant programs.

The Scott Poindexter Scholarship was established in 2020 to recognize Mr. Poindexter’s work in fundraising for the MDCC Development Foundation. This scholarship is for a student residing in Leflore County.

The Scott Poindexter Scholarship was established in 2020 to recognize Mr. Poindexter’s work in fundraising for the MDCC Development Foundation. This scholarship is for a student residing in MDCC’s service district.

The Smith Family Scholarship Fund was established in 2021 by David, Brady and Martin Smith. All three Smith men care deeply about MDCC and understand its positive impact on the Delta Region. This fund was established with a $15,000 pledge in March of 2021.

The Thomas A. Jones Endowed Scholarship Fund was established in 2016 by Joyce Jones Meyer in loving memory of her brother. Thomas A. Jones attended Sunflower Junior College where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He was inducted into the MDCC Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. Jones played professional baseball for the New York Yankees and was an avid golfer, hunter, and fisherman. He was a Staff Sgt. in the 9th Air Corps and flew 26 bombing missions over Germany during World War II. Thomas A. Jones, known as Tom, retired from Mohasco Upholstered Furniture Corp., where he was Vice-President of Employee Relations.