Bob Dunlap pays it forward by supporting education

BATESVILLE, Miss. — "Mr. Bob" Dunlap is known in Batesville and around Mississippi for his support of education, most notably his penchant for covering the college tuition of students in need.

No one seems to know how many students he has helped over the years, both privately and through scholarship programs.

"There are a lot of young people out there who need an opportunity," said Dunlap, chairman and CEO of Dunlap & Kyle Co. Inc. "Tuition is high. I've never had one kid who asked for a full-ride that I turned down.

"I've given a lot of scholarships. I don't like to advertise it because I can't do that for everybody."

One would think he has, however, given all the testimonials and anecdotes from people who know him.

He contributes money to a local community foundation, which distributes college scholarships and has established scholarships at area colleges.

"It's tough going to college today for a lot of these kids, but everybody needs to help however they can. I can do that," Dunlap said.

Due to his generosity to his community over the years, Dunlap has been named the 2023 Tire Business Tire Dealer Humanitarian.

Dunlap said he believes education is an important cause to support.

He not only has supported individuals who privately have sought his financial assistance, but he also has been a major contributor to local colleges, including his alma mater, the University of Mississippi ("Ole Miss"); the Northwest Mississippi Community College; and Mississippi State University (MSU).

Dunlap graduated in 1947 from Batesville High School, where he was senior class president and valedictorian. He graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1951 with a degree in business administration.

He went on to build a successful tire wholesale and retail company and has used his profits to support others in his community, including helping colleges and students.

Dunlap has donated millions of dollars since 1997 in support of Northwest Mississippi Community College and has helped more than 275 students with scholarships totaling more than $275,000, according to Patti Gordon, executive director of institutional advancement at the college.

Dunlap established a scholarship, the "Gateway Tire Scholarship Endowment," through Northwest Foundation's scholarship program.

"His endowment has helped countless students over the years to help with obtaining their degree," Gordon said.

The community college, with an enrollment of 7,200 students, serves 11 counties in north Mississippi, with seven branch locations offering more than 90 programs and career pathways.

The students range from recent high school graduates looking for an alternative to a four-year college to adults seeking a career change.

Dunlap donated about seven acres to Panola County for the construction of the Batesville Concourse campus the college recently started building.

The campus is offering a range of programs such as diesel technology, commercial truck driving, industrial automation and engineering, and business and marketing management.

"He was very instrumental in making that a reality for the community, for these areas that we serve and for Northwest to be able to offer these new programs to this area," Gordon said.

Dunlap also has been the largest contributor to the school's capital campaign and is serving as co-chair for the campaign.

"Mr. Dunlap has been supporting Northwest for over 25 years," Gordon said, "He has just been so generous to Northwest. He totally believes in community colleges and what we offer because we offer not only academics, but career technical programs."

The vision of Northwest is to transform students' lives, enrich the community and strive for excellence in its educational programs and services.

"This new concourse, this campus, is making all of those facts of our vision come to life," Gordon said.

She added the college gives students the ability to make life-sustaining wages with a degree, while also providing an educated workforce for area businesses.

Dunlap & Kyle has employed some of the college's graduates, she said, noting that Dunlap became involved in supporting the community college after realizing how many of his employees attended the college.

"He sees the value that our community college offers. He also believes in students. He believes in education and that heart of his wants to help students," she said.

"He has a very soft heart in helping others, and he knows and believes in what we offer, and he believes in people to be able to help them along the way.

"And in turn, he will hire those students who have graduated from Northwest to come and work for him. He has invested in them and then in turn, he gets employees from that," Gordon said.

She noted that the scholarship recipients write thank-you letters to Dunlap.

"He reads them. And I know he reads them because he'll call me and say, 'Patti, tell me about so-and-so. I'm just reading his thank-you note, and he just sounds like a pretty good kid.' And that is how Mr. Bobby Dunlap is. He truly has an interest in those students and wants to help them and genuinely shows that," Gordon said.

Dunlap has supported the college's football, basketball and fine arts programs and has sponsored events.

"He is so very generous because he knows and believes in the community college's mission, and he sees what Northwest is doing for our students and our communities and believes in that," Gordon said, adding, "He is willing to invest in the future of tomorrow."

But, she noted, Dunlap likes to offer support behind the scenes.

"He does not do this for the recognition, so he likes to be behind the scenes. It is very rare that he will come to be recognized because he doesn't want the glory. He is very humble.

"It's not for the recognition that he gives. He gives because it is what is needed.

"He wants Mississippi to flourish and, in his own way, he is also helping Mississippi because he's giving educational opportunities to students and also pushing forth programs in Mississippi that will help our state.

"He's a legend around here. He's a cornerstone. … He's a very generous man. He wants other people to succeed," Gordon said.

"Bob Dunlap is most deserving of this award," said Jud Skelton, senior director of development, real estate management and operations, Mississippi State University Foundation.

"As a major gift fundraiser for Mississippi State University for over two decades, I have had the opportunity to engage over the years with a vast number of our over 150,000 active living alumni. I can attest that Bob Dunlap is one of the most kind, humble and generous individuals that I have ever been associated with during my tenure.

"His passion for agriculture, forestry and natural resource endeavors in his native Mississippi is only surpassed by his dedication to the students and faculty members that he has enabled to receive an education and research support in these areas of interest."

Skelton said Dunlap "has been extremely generous and supported a number of areas within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as well as athletics."

Dunlap has supported students through several scholarship endowments, including:

• The Dunlap Horticulture Fund to purchase equipment required for research and to provide faculty enhancements;
• Robert H. Dunlap Loyalty Scholarships, which has offered four-year scholarships to more than 456 students since 2012 on the basis of merit, as well as academic achievements and leadership skills;
• Robert H. Dunlap Endowed Scholarship in Plant and Soil Sciences, which has provided support to more than 82 students majoring in horticulture; and
• Robert H. Dunlap Student Professional Development Fund for Excellence, which provides student professional development opportunities, such as assistance to attend scholarly, leadership, research-related and professional meetings.

Dunlap was a major supporter of MSU's "Today-Tomorrow-Forever Campaign" for the construction of MSU's new softball facility and baseball stadium.

In 2016, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences showed its appreciation for his support by presenting Dunlap with its Dean's Award.

"In addition to his longtime support of Ole Miss athletics, Mr. Dunlap and his company continue to make a transformative impact on the greater university community through business students and their future career opportunities," Nikki Davis, assistant vice chancellor at the University of Mississippi, said.

"Because of the generous support and engagement of Dunlap & Kyle Co. Inc., the Ole Miss School of Business Administration has been able to develop new academic programs and provide real-world experiences for so many students.

"Dunlap & Kyle leaders are highly connected with the Ole Miss Business BASE, an initiative to engage industry partners with students and faculty around the intersection of sales, supply chain, and analytics, developing a future workforce and driving innovation in these fields. We are grateful for Mr. Dunlap's enduring investments in our students and university," she said.

"Mr. Dunlap is one of the biggest supporters of Ole Miss, and he supports the university across the board: academics, athletics, scholarships, facility upgrades, the alumni association and more," added Denson Hollis, CEO/ senior associate athletic director for development, Ole Miss Athletics Foundation.

"Private support is the primary catalyst for taking public universities from good to great. Ole Miss would not be where it is today without the incredible generosity of Mr. Dunlap. We are forever grateful to him for his loyalty and support of Ole Miss.

"Mr. Dunlap's generosity spans the entire spectrum of Ole Miss. In that, he makes our facilities better, strengthens our academic programs, enhances the student-athlete experience and provides critical resources to supporting our leadership's vision. All of these things make the Ole Miss experience for our student-athletes and students the absolute best it can be."

He said the university doesn't share the amount donors contribute but, he said, "Mr. Dunlap is very comfortably in our top 10 donors of all time."

Hollis also noted that Dunlap never wants the spotlight on his support of the university.

"It is almost always anonymous and under the radar," he said.

Hollis said Dunlap is deserving of the humanitarian award.

"Mr. Dunlap is deserving not only for what he does for Ole Miss, but because of the organizations and people he supports outside of Ole Miss. At his core, he is an incredibly generous person that is willing to help anyone at any time.

"As I said above, most of his giving is outside the spotlight, so it would be impossible to know the totality of his generosity and the number of people he has supported over his lifetime.

"It is incalculable."