Murphrees give to UM

Robert Murphree, a Jackson attorney, and his wife, Melissa, have donated $25,000 to create the Margaret Haaga Murphree Scholarship Endowment to provide need-based support to students pursuing degrees in the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy. The endowment honors Robert Murphree’s mother, who died in 2008 at the age of 91. The Murphree family has a long history with the university. Robert Murphree’s father attended the School of Business Administration. Two of his brothers pursued degrees at UM, as well as the Murphrees’ older daughter, Caroline.

Margaret Murphree was a graduate of the Mississippi State College for Women (now Mississippi University for Women) but was an avid supporter of Ole Miss. She met her husband, Thomas, while they were both working for the Works Progress Administration, which was created to help provide economic relief to citizens during the Great Depression. They married in 1940 and had seven children.