Livingston gift supports business and education students
Coy Livingston was a hardworking teenager in the early 1960s. When high school days ended in Booneville, other students went home while he worked odd jobs around the school for pay. Afterward, he worked at a local grocery store, and on weekends, while other classmates sought adventures, he mowed yards for the public and painted his family home.
But there was a reason behind his work ethic: his father died of a stroke when Coy was 12, leaving Coy’s mother, Coy, and an older sister in desperate straits. His meager earnings helped them and kept alive his dream of one day attending Mississippi State University.
After two years at Northeast Mississippi Community College, he saved enough to pay for Mississippi State tuition, supplemented by summers spent working for the Mississippi Highway Department by day and managing a small convenience store by night. Content to make it in the door, he and his high school sweetheart, now wife Phyllis, were surprised when he received a grant from an anonymous watcher in the wings—a tremendous boon giving him the flexibility not only to work hard but also to live.
More than 50 years later, the Livingstons are providing students from similar financial straits the same opportunity. Through two scholarships—a presidential endowed scholarship and an endowment benefiting business and education students—and a study abroad fund, the couple is watching over future generations of students, ensuring hard work is rewarded.
The Coy and Phyllis Livingston Presidential Endowed Scholarship will reward the highest-achieving high school graduates by covering tuition and providing mentorship and service opportunities. The endowment, part of MSU’s Presidential Scholars program, reflects the Livingstons’ dedication to education and their desire to highlight academic achievement.
“In recent years, we’ve felt society has put academic achievement in the backseat when compared to something like athletics,” Coy said. “We want to reward a hardworking student since they can be as talented as someone who excels in the athletic arena.”
Although they have high expectations for scholarship recipients, the Livingstons’ primary hope is for students to reinvest in Mississippi.
“We don’t expect the recipient to win the Pulitzer Prize or become chairman of the Federal Reserve board, but we do hope they remain in the state and invest in our people,” Phyllis explained. “Perhaps they become a teacher and mesmerize a classroom with tales of Odysseus. Maybe they go into business and invest in a young entrepreneur who presents a comprehensive business plan. We hope they invest in Southern values and build up our state.”
The Southern value of hard work is a central theme in the lives of both Livingstons. Both grew up in Booneville and attended MSU before settling in Tupelo. Coy graduated from the College of Business in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science in general business. He dedicated his career to banking, retiring in 2012 as executive vice president at BancorpSouth.
Phyllis graduated from the College of Education in 1970 with a degree in English and spent the next three decades teaching ninth-grade English in the Tupelo Public School District. After retirement, she helped develop, organize and teach an ACT preparation curriculum to improve Mississippi students’ scores. Her impact in the classroom earned her recognition as Outstanding Teacher in a Tupelo School in 1989, Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers in 1996, and Mississippi’s Star Teacher in 2005.
Phyllis jumped at the idea of establishing a presidential scholarship with Coy in full agreement.
“I loved teaching young, bright minds, and I am excited to continue helping these gifted students with this scholarship,” she said.
The couple’s second endowment—the Coy and Phyllis Livingston Endowed Scholarship—honors the Livingstons’ time as Mississippi State students by supporting students who enroll in either the College of Business or Education, with preference given to those from Prentiss or Lee counties, who demonstrate financial need, have work experience in high school or college, and are committed to community service.
The couple’s travel experiences during retirement and exposure to diverse cultures and practices inspired the creation of the Coy and Phyllis Livingston Endowed Study Abroad Fund within the College of Education. The fund will support students who take advantage of study abroad opportunities and bring those experiences back home.
“Our time at MSU allowed us to be successful in our careers, and now we realize that the best way to invest in tomorrow is to invest in young people with worthy aspirations today,” Coy said.
These endowments are driven by a firm belief in hard work and the importance of passing opportunities forward. Their giving now positions them as the “watchers in the wings,” guiding the next generation of dedicated students by providing the resources they need to succeed. By giving, they also honor their families, communities, teachers and mentors who aided them on their journey. Coy’s generosity is a tribute to the person who helped him when he needed support most.
After receiving the grant that eased his financial burden, he discovered his anonymous supporter was none other than a mentor he idolized—Phyllis’s uncle Vernon W. Barrow, a mechanical drawing professor at MSU. Having seen his work ethic and character, Barrow extended a kindness to the young man, changing Coy forever.
“He was my hero,” Coy said. “He was the perfect Southern gentleman—refined, honest and caring. He helped when we needed it. Now, we want to do the same for others.”
In their quiet, thoughtful way, Coy and Phyllis Livingston have become like those who invested in them. Their support is a promise; no matter who you are, someone believes in you. Your story matters. And at Mississippi State, generosity is worth carrying forward.
By Shun Pounds, Photos submitted & MSU Archive