Alumna Makes an Investment in the Future

Golding and her husband, Pete, defensive coordinator for the Ole Miss Rebels football program, have given $100,000 to the Patterson School Building Fund, supporting the effort to build a new home for the school.

The Oxford couple's gift comes on Giving Day, April 9-10, an annual online, social media-driven fundraising campaign. The fifth Ole Miss Giving Day lasts one day, eight hours and 48 minutes, in honor of the university's founding year of 1848.

"The accountancy school is No. 1 in the SEC and Top 10 in the country, and it was that way when I was in college," said Carolyn Golding, a 2007 graduate and Taylor Medalist who's returned as an adjunct instructor.

"I wanted to support the school so that it can continue to grow and keep its high standards."

A native of the Delta town of Cleveland, she also earned a Master of Tax degree at UM in 2008 and a Juris Doctor from the School of Law in 2011. She worked for several private CPA firms before beginning her teaching career in 2015 at the University of Southern Mississippi; she also taught at the University of Texas at San Antonio before joining the Ole Miss faculty.

"We are proud to have Carolyn as a Patterson School alumnus – and are very glad she is teaching for us in the PSOA," said Mark Wilder, dean of the accountancy school. "Her combination of working in private practice as well as her past experience in teaching provides an outstanding benefit for our students.

"It is humbling and inspiring to see our graduates invest so much in the future of our school."

Golding said she wanted to make a gift because she credits her Ole Miss education for the foundation of a successful career.

"I had a great experience in the accounting school, and I have a lot of respect for the faculty," she said, recalling a few professors in particular. "Suzanne McCaffrey was my first accounting teacher. She taught 201 and 202, and I thought she was great.

"I took Dr. (J Riley) Shaw's tax course, Dr. (Mark) Wilder, who's now the dean, and I remember Dr. (Morris) Stocks."

In college, Golding interned with Deloitte and Touche, a "Big 4" accounting firm. Though she described the experience as "very overwhelming," she believes she's always been well suited to the profession.

"I've always excelled in math and numbers," she said. "When I was little, I played Monopoly a lot and I always wanted to be the banker to control the money. I think I've just been inclined to be in accounting since childhood."

The school's new 100,000-square-foot building is planned for the intersection of University Avenue and Grove Loop, overlooking the Grove. It will centralize classes into one building and feature tiered auditoriums and classrooms, study areas, conference rooms, and administrative and facility office suites.

Carolyn and Pete Golding met in Cleveland, where he played football for Delta State University. The couple has three children: a daughter, 6, and two sons, 9 and 12.

To join the Goldings in making a gift to Ole Miss on Giving Day, click here.

For more information on supporting the Patterson School Building Fund, contact Jason McCormick, executive director for development, at jason@olemiss.edu or 662-915-1757.