Hollands Give Back to Support Future Bears with Endowed Scholarship Funds

Tommy Holland and Mimi McMahan Holland

Mercer alumni couple Tommy Holland, CLAS ’60, LAW ’62, and Mimi McMahan Holland, CLAS ’60, HON ’00, understand the difference a high-quality education can make in one’s life and believe in the importance of paying it forward.

Tommy, a native of Tifton, Georgia, graduated from high school in 1956 and headed to Mercer to become a lawyer. He met Mimi, a Macon native studying to become a teacher, during his sophomore year. The couple married in 1961, and Tommy graduated from Mercer’s School of Law in 1962.

After graduating from law school, Tommy became a Navy lawyer—and the couple lived in Newport, Rhode Island, and Norfolk, Virginia, before moving to Bremerhaven, Germany, for three years. Soon after returning to the U.S. and settling in the Atlanta area, they became active in the Mercer Alumni Association and served in various leadership positions in The President’s Club and Half Century Club. Mimi also served five terms on the Mercer board of trustees and is a member of the Mercer University Press board of directors.

Recognizing Mercer’s influence in their lives, the couple began making annual gifts to the University in 1968. “Mercer helped me to become a life-prepared adult as well as a lawyer and allowed me to enjoy 45 years of active law practice,” said Tommy. “Mercer brought us together and sent us out into the world prepared for our careers, so we were inspired to pay it forward.”

In order for their support to have a lasting impact, Tommy and Mimi established several endowed scholarship funds at the University and make annual contributions to the funds. Two of the funds were created in memory of their mothers, and one was named in Mimi’s honor. They also make annual contributions to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Education, School of Law, Mercer University Press, and Mercer On Mission.

“At Mercer, I gained a desire to be a lifelong learner, to serve others, to develop leadership skills, and to have a curiosity of the world. It’s also where my Christian faith was solidified,” said Mimi. “Mercer made such a huge impact on our lives, and we want other young people to have the same opportunities. We have tried to help with that through giving and serving.”

The couple also supports the University by encouraging new students to enroll. Both of their sons, Jon and Brian, a daughter-in-law, Ginney, and a granddaughter, Emily, graduated from Mercer.

Tommy and Mimi plan to continue building their endowed funds and encourage other alumni to explore the many ways to give back to Mercer and extend the impact of charitable giving well into the future.