Supporters Like You
Read about supporters who are helping to create a Georgia State campus full of brilliant minds.
Rosalynne Price (Ph.D. ’86)
If anyone asks Rosalynne Price about Georgia State University, she can give them two big reasons why they should support the university: one is financial, the other comes from the heart.
Read more of their story
Pick either reason and the outcome is the same.
“Georgia State is a good investment on your dollar,” said Price. “The university graduates high-quality students — many of whom would otherwise not be able to get an education. It’s been that way throughout its history.”
Price knows first-hand the impact of donor support on students; she received an unexpected scholarship when she was a GSU student working towards her doctorate in instructional technology.
“I was teaching full time and a mother of two — with a third on the way — slowly working toward my doctorate by taking one class at a time when my advisor, Skip Atkinson, asked ‘would it help you if you had a scholarship?’” said Price. “It provided me a real opportunity, allowing me to take two classes per semester. I didn’t even have to apply for it!”
Price had come to Georgia State with several years’ experience as a primary and secondary school teacher. Before moving to Atlanta with her husband William (Buddy) Price, she taught in underserved schools in Louisville, Ky. with Teacher Corps, a precursor to AmeriCorps, while earning her Master of Education at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
“Georgia State provided a wonderful place of discovery for me,” said Price. “I gained an international perspective — the university is a microcosm of the world — and it offered me a great environment to learn and explore, leading me to learn what I loved to do and become who I needed to be.”
After earning her doctorate, Price maintained vibrant, ongoing connections with Georgia State through her employers, first Equifax, then Cox Enterprises. She helped facilitate internships for GSU students and worked with her employers to secure financial support for the university where there were opportunities. Currently, Price serves as the vice chair for the board of the Atlanta SMART Academy and is working to foster meaningful relationships between the charter school and the university’s College of Education & Human Development.
Price was also a regular annual donor to the university through the years but began making significant investments in GSU student opportunity in 2020.
“I’m proud Georgia State is my alma mater, and I had seen the university’s growth and remarkable progress,” said Price. “I wanted to make a meaningful gift to the Emergency Assistance Fund, because there were students who were really working, trying to stay in school, and I wanted to help.”
“I’ll always give to Georgia State — it makes sense to me; someone else gave to Georgia State to open doors for me.”
A generous supporter of the Emergency Assistance Fund, Panther’s Pantry, Panther Retention Grants and university scholarships, Price most values Georgia State’s eclectic offerings, diverse and largely underserved student population, and commitment to student success.
“If you care enough to come to Georgia State for an education, Georgia State cares enough about you to help you graduate,” said Price. “The university is ever-growing, ever-changing, and not just good for its students, but for Atlanta.”
“From where I stand, it’s both a good financial investment and one of the best heart investments I can make.”
Ed and Cecil Laird
Ed Laird’s outlook is threaded through his and his wife Cecil’s lives — from their passion for renovating properties to their dedication to supporting causes and people they believe will make a difference.
Read more of their story
“I don’t see things so much for what they are. I’m looking for their potential.”
Georgia State University and its students are among the most significant beneficiaries of the Lairds’ philosophy. After decades of generous contributions, including endowed scholarships and planned gifts, the Lairds recently finalized a new planned gift to the university with a current value of more than $6 million. Funded through investments with the potential to be worth more than their current value at the time the gift is realized and designated to benefit the Georgia State University Foundation, this donation will support the Cecil Winn and William Edmond Scholarship for first-generation students.
The Lairds’ deep connection to Georgia State was first established more than 50 years ago when Ed enrolled in post-graduate journalism classes to hone skills he could use in his teaching job. After seven years of teaching, Ed relocated to California and began managing property.
A decade after his cross-country move and career switch, he met Cecil while he was in Virginia visiting friends. Once married, Ed soon relocated with Cecil to Virginia, where they resumed the work that would become their shared passion: restoring properties to their former glory. The Lairds moved to Atlanta in the mid-1990s and Ed rekindled his connection with Georgia State. He was impressed by the university’s growth, transformation and commitment to students.
“We’ve always placed a high value on education, and we began to look closely at Georgia State when we were looking to make a donation after selling some stock,” said Laird. “While my past association with the university didn’t hurt, we very much liked what we’d been reading about its dedication to first-generation students, those who don’t have family with experience in higher education.”
Their investment in the university soon took on an even more personal and direct form.
After meeting and being impressed by an international student from Guinea, located in western Africa, through a member of their church, the Lairds decided to support his educational goals. Today, Jean Francois K. Onivogui (B.A. ʼ10, M.A. ʼ13, Ph.D. ʼ19) is an assistant professor at Georgia State’s Perimeter College.
“From when I first met them through today, the Lairds have been instrumental in everything I do and provide me anything I might need,” said Onivogui. “There have been so many people here in the U.S. that have been essential to my growth and success. I’m truly the fruit of American goodwill. I would have not accomplished all I have without the Lairds’ and so many others’ support.”
“What makes Georgia State stand out for me is its work with first-generation college students like Jean Francois, students who will positively contribute to our communities and make them better,” said Laird. “Georgia State has incredible potential, as does its students — as great as any students going to Ivy League schools.”
“Georgia State is a good investment on your dollar,” said Price. “The university graduates high-quality students — many of whom would otherwise not be able to get an education. It’s been that way throughout its history.”
Kevin Lofton (MHA ’79) and Sabrina Shannon
Dedicated to social justice and health equity, Kevin and Shannon have decided to create a legacy through an endowed professorship that will help expand the diversity of the Institute of Health Administration.
Read more of their story
When designing their endowment for Georgia State University, Kevin Lofton and Sabrina Shannon drew on their respective lifetimes –their professional experiences, their families’ histories and their shared commitment to social justice and health equity.
The Lofton Family Professorship in the Institute of Health Administration was created to help Georgia State attract faculty to help expand the diversity of the institution, providing assistant professors with funds for research, travel and other advancement opportunities – the kind of support not commonly available to young faculty.
“We’re focused on helping professors in their pre-tenure years build their careers,” said Lofton. “What we believe is that the best teachers offer the broadest, most diverse lenses to understanding all the factors involved in health care in America.”
Kevin Lofton (MHA ’79), a 2016 inductee to the Robinson College of Business Hall of Fame and 2017 recipient of the Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award, joined the Georgia State University Foundation Board of Trustees after a distinguished career spanning more than four decades. From 2003 until his 2020 retirement, Lofton served as CEO of Catholic Health Initiatives, and then CommonSpirit Health, the nation’s second-largest health system. Sabrina Shannon is a prominent executive healthcare coach and partner at MEDI Leadership, the nation’s largest executive coaching firm exclusively for healthcare.
The Loftons, who were married in 2016, share key commonalities in their upbringings. Both were raised by parents with exceptionally strong work ethics who impressed upon them the generationally transformative value of education, along with the expectation that they pursue advanced degrees.
“Impacting systems that limit the advancement of black people is our priority. We specifically focus in the areas of health and education. The Lofton Family Professorship hits every area important to us,” says Shannon.
In their respective careers, the Loftons repeatedly saw organizations achieve better outcomes and performance when they had people from diverse backgrounds in decision-making roles. Through the Lofton Family Professorship, they will enrich the education and range of perspectives available to Georgia State health administration students by attracting assistant professors with a demonstrated commitment to racial diversity and health equity by bolstering their career trajectories.
“The future is bright for Georgia State and I’m happy to be a part of it,” said Lofton. “I’m excited Dr. Blake is leading us and am looking forward to my continued involvement with the foundation.”
Ron and Elizabeth Davis
Ron and Elizabeth Davis are invested in working to uplift the community, in being a positive force for social justice and in extending a helping hand to younger generations.
Read more of their story
In working to uplift the community.
In being a positive force for social justice.
In sharing their skills and extending a helping hand to younger generations.
After generously contributing to the Georgia State FirstGen Scholarship in previous years, the Davises formalized their investment in Panther student success in 2020 by creating and endowing the Overcoming Obstacles Fund. Established as part of the Georgia State University Foundation’s The State Way Match program, the fund will provide scholarships to students who have demonstrated dedication and resilience when faced with difficulties.
Funding a scholarship was hardly the first time the Davises positively impacted Panthers’ lives. For more than 20 years, they have volunteered for numerous social and racial justice initiatives in the downtown Atlanta communities Georgia State and its students call home. Over the years, they have worked with numerous current, former and future Panthers through their commitment to the Big Bethel AME Church’s Saturday Academy, tutoring students at Hope Hill Elementary School and volunteering with Operation P.E.A.C.E. in the Bedford Pines community.
“We were deeply impressed with Georgia State students,” said Ron. “While they varied in what they were studying, they were all intelligent, motivated, high-quality students.”
They got additional perspective on Panthers in the classroom when Elizabeth enrolled as a GSU-62 student to study art and art history after retiring from a 30-year career in academia. There, the retired professor emeritus from Georgia Institute of Technology learned that a significant percentage of Panthers are first-generation students, just like she and Ron were.
“Because we were both the first people in our families to go to college, Ron and I had an understanding of some of the obstacles many Georgia State students face,” said Elizabeth. “Your parents really don’t have the background to help, so you have to figure out how to navigate all the systems within a university – and how to pay for it – by yourself. It’s stressful.”
When the Davises decided to leave a financial legacy in higher education, they decided that investing in Panthers held the greatest promise.
“We get solicitations to give to the Ivy League schools we attended but, while we’re very grateful for the scholarships we received, they have plenty of money and plenty of donors,” said Ron. “We wanted to put our money where we could have the most impact.”
“Georgia State is in the category of urban universities helping people from challenging economic backgrounds,” said Elizabeth. “From meeting many Georgia State students and alumni I know it’s an excellent place for students from challenging circumstances to earn valuable professional credentials and get a good start for their career.”
“With its diverse campus and student body and high graduation rate, Georgia State is an exceptional shining star,” said Elizabeth. “We invested in Georgia State because we want it to be there for all the children Ron and I met and worked with, for them to have the opportunity to achieve the great things they’re capable of.”
“Georgia State is in the category of urban universities helping people from challenging economic backgrounds,” said Elizabeth Davis. “From meeting many Georgia State students and alumni I know it’s an excellent place for students from challenging circumstances to earn valuable professional credentials and get a good start for their career.”
J. Allen (B.B.A. ‘68) Linda Poole
“Anything I have done – and anything I will do in the future – for Georgia State is simply my way of giving back a small part of all that the university has given me.” – J. Allen Poole
Read more of their story
Anything I have done – and anything I will do in the future – for Georgia State is simply my way of giving back a small part of all that the university has given me,” says Georgia State alumnus J. Allen Poole (B.B.A. ’68).
Over the years, Allen has been a generous contributor of his time and resources to the Georgia State University Foundation, the Robinson College of Business, and Georgia State Athletics. In 2017, he established a planned gift, then valued at $1.8 million, that designated Georgia State as the beneficiary of several retirement and annuity accounts. One-half of the funds will create an athletic scholarship, with the other half going to Robinson’s School of Accountancy to create the Dr. John W. Cook Professorship and the J. Allen Poole Endowed Scholarship.
Allen divided his planned gift between his twin passions, one that has provided lifelong enjoyment and one that prepared him professionally.
A self-described “sports nut,” Allen credits Robinson’s School of Accountancy with the education that helped him achieve notable professional success as a certified public accountant and co-founder of one of Atlanta’s leading accounting firms, Blackwell & Poole, CPAs, which merged in 1998 with the large regional firm Cherry Bekaert, CPAs.
“Professionally, my meal ticket came from my accounting degree from Robinson,” he says. “While I had many great teachers at Georgia State, there were none better than John Cook, and I wanted to honor and thank him – as a mentor and lifelong friend – through this endowed professorship.”
Allen was honored to speak about his and his mentor’s special relationship at Dr. Cook’s 2020 funeral and is grateful his philanthropy will honor and memorialize this influential man.
“I think that giving, to have the most benefit to the donor and recipient,” he says, “should come from the heart. Mine did.”
Karen Linhart (BBA ’67)
Remembering what it was like to balance a university course load with the job she needed to pay for her education, Karen has chosen to establish a scholarship to help advance women’s leadership in the world.
Read more of her story
Karen Linhart (BBA ’67) remembers what it was like to balance a university course load with the job she needed to pay for her education.
That memory and the perspective gained over a long and successful career in the computer industry, mostly with IBM, inspired Karen in 2019 to establish a scholarship with the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at the Georgia State University Foundation. The Karen L. Linhart Endowed Scholarship provides funding support for undergraduate students enrolled in the University’s WomenLead program who demonstrate financial need.
“I was a first-generation college student, and early in my time at Georgia State – when I was going to night school and working full time – I thought ‘Why don’t I just quit school and continue with clerical jobs?’” Karen says. “But I realized in short order that without a college degree, career opportunities and advancement would pass me by.”
After graduation, Karen pursued a career in the computer industry. Besides offering opportunities to use her innate talents, the computer field in the late 1960s was one of the few sectors hiring college-educated women for professions other than administrative positions. While workplaces have changed in many ways since she started her career, Karen felt that the WomenLead program, with its ability to identify and impact students, was where her endowment funds could be most meaningfully directed.
“Today’s success in one’s chosen career depends not only on skill competency but also being able to network, effectively interview, and advocate for oneself,” Karen says. “You never know what life is going to bring, but if you have a college degree and skills and talents to fall back on, you have a great chance to write a story of your own making.”
Women lead students.
“I was a first-generation college student, and early in my time at Georgia State – when I was going to night school and working full time – I thought ‘Why don’t I just quit school and continue with clerical jobs?’ But I realized in short order that without a college degree, career opportunities and advancement would pass me by.”
— Karen Linhart
Join A Giving Society
Together we can do so much.
Join a community of people who share your passion for transforming the lives of students, advancing the frontiers of knowledge and strengthening the workforce of the future by becoming a member of one of our giving societies.