Bernard Bruce Ramsey (November 10, 1915 – July 11, 1996) was an

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

with Merrill Lynch, a brokerage firm, but is best known for his

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

contributions to the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. A native of Macon, Georgia,

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, Ramsey graduated Lanier High School before moving on to the University of Georgia in

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

, where he attended what is now known as the

Terry College of Business The C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College of Business is a constituent college of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States. The business college offers undergraduate programs, MBA programs, specialized master's programs and ...

and received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

(

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

) in Commerce in 1937. While in college, he was a member of the

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ROTC,

Delta Sigma Pi Delta Sigma Pi () (officially the International Fraternity of Delta Sigma Pi, Inc.) is a coeducational professional business fraternity and one of the largest in the United States. Delta Sigma Pi was founded on November 7, 1907, at the Schoo ...

and Alpha Tau Omega

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, Order of the Greek Horsemen and the

Gridiron Secret Society Gridiron Secret Society, founded in 1908, is a secret society at the University of Georgia. Gridiron has been called "the highest honor a male student may receive on the University of Georgia campus.". It has also been recognized as one of the "T ...

. After serving as a lieutenant colonel in

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during

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, Ramsey joined Merrill Lynch as a

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. By the time of his retirement in 1973, he had become a senior

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and was the chair of the executive committee of the firm. Over the next two decades, he gave generously to his alma mater, culminating in a $20 million gift in 1993. He also left $18.8 million to the university in his will. To date, Ramsey is the largest individual benefactor of the University of Georgia. As a result of his efforts, the names of Ramsey and his wife, Eugenia, appear frequently in conjunction with the university, especially with regards to the business school, which is home to the Bernard B. and Eugenia A. Ramsey Center for Private Enterprise. The nation's largest student recreation center and a major

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

award are named after Ramsey, as well as numerous endowed chairs, programs, and classrooms across campus. A bronze statue of Ramsey sits on a park bench outside UGA's Honors College. The Ramsey Concert Hall is one of two musical recital halls located in the UGA Performing and Visual Arts Complex. Ramsey also endowed the Bernard B. and Eugenia A. Ramsey Chair of Private Enterprise in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest institution of hig ...

in 1963.

References

The Briefing- Spring/Summer 2002, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060813124408/http://www.uga.edu/pac/tour.html UGA Performing Arts Center online tourbr>''Ramsey leaves UGA an additional $18.8 million'', UGA Columns faculty/staff newspaper, September 9, 1996

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20050912110437/http://www.uga.edu/honors/fellows/about-program/Ra-benefactors.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsey, Bernard 1915 births 1996 deaths Terry College of Business alumni Merrill (company) people American financial businesspeople People from Macon, Georgia 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists