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were aching to better themselves as he once did.
“Despite the fact that he never went to college, or maybe
because of that fact, it was very important to him that he help
people who otherwise couldn’t afford higher education,” said
Pam. “He was a lifelong learner who believed in looking to the
future and paying it forward to help the next generation coming
up. I think he would be absolutely thrilled with the campus
today, especially with its expansion as a four-year institution.”
Pam Rollins grew up in Atlanta, just a few minutes from her
grandparents’ house, where she loved to play as a child. “They
still had those Depression-era values,” she said. “They gardened
and canned and preserved what they grew, always stocking up,
just in case. I don’t remember either of them ever sitting still—
they always worked at something.”
Pam earned a bachelor’s degree in family and community
studies at Stephens College and became a civic leader and
philanthropist, taking her grandfather’s place on YHC’s Board of
Trustees in 1992 and continuing his tradition of straight talk and
high-energy initiative.
In 2012, during YHC’s Commencement, she became the
third member of the Rollins Family to receive the Young Harris
College Medallion—the highest honor given by the College—
for her extraordinary contributions and leadership, after her
grandfather in 1984 and her grandmother in 1993.
“Pam is just like her father and grandfather in that you never
have to wonder what’s on her mind because she’ll tell you,” said
YHC Board of Trustees Chair Jerry Nix, with a chuckle. “She
loves to laugh and have fun, but when it comes to fundraising
for education, she takes her role very seriously and gets the job
done. She’s a natural leader, just like Wayne.”
Determined to make certain that future generations of students
could enjoy those educational experiences that her grandfather
had desired, Pam recently announced a $22 million lead gift
from the O. Wayne Rollins Foundation toward YHC’s Investing
in the Future Capital Campaign. The funds will support the
construction of the Rollins Campus Center that will be home to
Pam R. Rollins stands
in front of YHC’s
LEED Silver-certified
Enotah Hall.
a new 21st-century student center, a larger Grace Rollins Dining
Hall, a new banquet facility and the state-of-the-art Zell and
Shirley Miller Library.
“Young Harris graduates have an established track record of
doing well wherever they end up,” Pam explained. “It’s a college
that consistently produces outstanding people, but there still
aren’t enough people out there who know about it. As part
of our campaign, we’re approaching the people who know
firsthand what a great institution it is, and then we’re trying to
raise awareness among those who might not know, with the
hope of recruiting some great students as well as raising funds.”
She likes to believe, as she works to help transform the
College, that her grandfather, that valedictorian who was so
determined to “launch” in 1930, would be pleased by this
“anchor” in the north Georgia mountains.
Capital Campaign
Foundational Support
The second-largest gift that Young Harris College has received toward its $55 million
Investing in the Future Capital Campaign is a grant of $5 million from Atlanta’s Robert W.
Woodruff Foundation. The generous gift is designated to support construction of the
$44 million, 125,000-square-foot Rollins Campus Center. (See related story on page 12.)
The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation is an independent private foundation with
a broad charter to support charitable, scientific and educational activities, including
higher education.
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