Bud Robinson's involvement at Millsaps College began when the CEO of Deposit Guaranty National Bank, Herman Hines, then Treasurer of the Millsaps College Board of Trustees, insisted he join the board. Even though Bud was not an alumnus, the Davidson and Harvard graduate saw the impact Millsaps was making on the state and region and knew that he wanted to support the institution and its students in whatever way possible.
As Bud learned about the mission of the College, he and his wife Judy, were presented with an opportunity to make a profound impact. Many students were not in a position financially to enroll in study abroad programs, and thus lost the opportunity to gain the perspective that comes from experiencing different cultures. The couple knew their philanthropic support could enable Millsaps College to create a fund for students to study internationally and gain a broader worldview that would complement the fine liberal arts education they were receiving.
In 2006, Bud and Judy began donating $100k per year to fund the Robinson international study and travel program, but when Bud turned 70.5 years old in 2011, and the mandatory Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) from his IRA kicked in, they saw a way to fully endow the program and make it into a perpetual scholarship. Bud and Judy chose to bequest Bud's IRA and the distributions to fund the Robinson International Fellows Scholarship.
Before the changes to the retirement legislation law in 2017, Bud and Judy were taking his IRA distribution as taxable income and then donating the money to Millsaps. The implementation of the new law allowed them to redirect up to $100,000 annually as pre-tax deduction and lessen his IRS tax burden. For more information on how this process works, click here.
Dr. George Bey, Director of International Studies and Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, states that the Robinson International Fellows Scholarship has helped hundreds of students who otherwise would not have had the opportunity to study and travel internationally. Dr. Bey also believes that "the experience gained from international travel is an important and transformational tool that benefits the student and contributes directly to the college's mission statement."
Bud and Judy know that they can never truly quantify the impact of their philanthropy on the lives of Millsaps students, but they are satisfied with the knowledge that their support provides life-changing experiences for students and shapes graduates who will transform the state, region, and nation.
