Donor Hopes Gift Helps Open Eyes and Minds

The Atlanta resident committed $75,000 to the College of Liberal Arts Study Abroad/Study USA Fund. Study Abroad and Study USA are programs that combine academic learning with hands-on, real-world experiences.

"This amazing gift from Virginia Brooks will give more Ole Miss students the opportunity to immerse themselves in different places and cultures while they explore thought-provoking and important topics," said Lee Cohen, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. "Study USA and Study Abroad are life-enriching programs that help our students acquire skills that cannot be achieved in the classroom alone."

Brooks is passionate about students having the opportunity to study abroad.

"Traveling to other countries opens your eyes and mind to different cultures and attitudes – totally broadens your horizons," she said. "We tend to have a myopic vision of the world when we don't have the opportunity to understand those outside of our confines.

"We need a better understanding of all countries. We need to take travel experiences back home with us whether they are related to history, politics, architecture or our favorite cuisine.

"I am happy to help send students abroad or wherever they want to go. It's a wonderful opportunity, and I am so happy my alma mater offers these programs."

The donor visited Europe twice as a high school student. After she married, she and her husband, Jim, spent a month every summer for 10 years in Evian, France. The paternal side of Brooks' family is of French descent.

"We made a lot of friends there with whom we keep in touch," she said. "We have been traveling out of the country every year, whether it's to Canada, where my mother was from, or Europe and Croatia."

Brooks has also been influenced by Rick Steves, a lifelong traveler, travel writer, activist and TV-radio personality. He encourages travelers to explore less-frequented destinations and to become immersed in the locals' way of life.

"Listening to him talk about how he believes in the transformative power of travel in building bridges and fostering global empathy is an idea I support," Brooks said. "Steves says you can learn about your country by traveling and looking at it from the outside."

The 1976 Ole Miss alumna who majored in French previously established the Brooks Family Endowment in Modern Languages for Faculty Support.

"I feel we all should learn another language in our global world," said Brooks, who taught French to high schoolers. "That is the main reason we originally set up a family endowment in the Department of Modern Languages. The United States does not give enough attention to learning other languages."

The Brooks family is part of a three-couple franchise group of Ruth's Chris Steakhouses in Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina, and part of a newer restaurant concept, Up on the Roof, in South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia.

Their son, Pierce Brooks, also an Ole Miss alumnus, opened Up on the Roof, a rooftop bar with farm-to-table cuisine, in Alpharetta, Georgia. He works in the corporate offices of Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

Brooks has also supported the Southern Foodways Alliance, the College of Liberal Arts Undergraduate Student Support Program Fund and the Rose Society of the Ole Miss Women's Council for Philanthropy.

To make a gift to College of Liberal Arts Study Abroad/Study USA Fund, send a check, with the fund's name noted on the memo line, to the University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655; or give online here.

To learn more about supporting opportunities for students, contact Caroline Hourin, director of development for the College of Liberal Arts, at cehourin@olemiss.edu or 662-915-6385.

Top: Donor Virginia Brooks (right) attends a birthday celebration with her son, Pierce Brooks. Brooks hopes to make it easier for Ole Miss students to travel and study abroad and across the United States. Submitted photo