As Leftwich Tennis Center nears completion and the Memphis Tigers football season is underway, it’s fitting to recognize the forethought and generosity of legendary Memphis businessman Billy Dunavant and his wife Tommie.
By the time Billy died in 2021, the couple had long been discussing how to continue the philanthropy that was such a large part of his life.
“He would say: Pick (what) you think that I would want,” said Tommie of her recent decisions about giving through the William B. “Billy” Dunavant, Jr. Foundation, managed at the Community Foundation. That’s why she began her giving from the Dunavant Foundation with a $5.5 million gift to the University of Memphis, Billy’s alma mater.
That generous gift will create five endowed professorships and will be used to support the supply chain program at the Fogelman College of Business and Economics. Part of the gift also supports the Leftwich tennis project and the football training facility.
Click here to learn more about this gift and its impact in the 2023 Community Foundation Annual Report.