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Muscoe Garnett '30 |
Randolph-Macon College has received an estate gift of $2 million to support its mathematics and science program. The gift was given by the late Muscoe Garnett ’30 and his wife, Dorothy, of Suffolk, Virginia.
Muscoe Garnett, who was greatly interested in chemistry, was a student assistant in that department while at R-MC. After graduation, he moved to Suffolk, Virginia where he taught math, science and English for one year at Cypress High School. Garnett then moved to Washington, D.C. where he worked as a correspondent with the Public Works Administration. After a short term in the United States Army, he returned to Suffolk where he eventually became founder and president of Garnett Oil Company. The company was later sold to the Exxon Corporation.
“Muscoe was dedicated to supporting the college and was always enthusiastic when attending campus events,” said Susan Donavant, Executive Director of College Advancement for Alumni. “Even after his death in 1981, his wife Dorothy continued to visit the campus. She developed a fondness for R-MC and wanted to carry out Muscoe’s wishes of helping to provide new and innovative learning opportunities for our students.”
The gift will benefit Randolph-Macon and its students in several ways. One million dollars will be used to create the Dorothy and Muscoe Garnett Professorship in Mathematics and $500,000 will go towards a new science building presently under consideration for the campus. The remaining $500,000 will be added to the Lambert Fund in Chemistry (created in 1925 to honor alumnus, Jordan Wheat Lambert, Class of 1872) to establish the Garnett-Lambert Professorship in Chemistry.
Randolph-Macon alumnus, Henry Simpson ’52, serves as the Co-Executor of the Garnetts’ estate and knew both individuals for many years. “Not only will Randolph-Macon benefit tremendously from the Garnetts’ passion for the College,” he said, “but this gift will also be a wonderful and appropriate memorial for my dear friends.”
“This generous gift demonstrates a true commitment to the mission of R-MC by Muscoe and Dorothy Garnett,” said R-MC President Robert Lindgren. “We are grateful for their magnificent support of our academic programs and for their desire to leave such a meaningful legacy.”
For more information, please contact Pam Harris Cox at 752-3712, pamelacox@rmc.edu or Anne Marie Lauranzon at 804-752-7317, alauranz@rmc.edu.