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TURNER COLLEGE SPOTLIGHT

The Violet and Thomas Buck Jr. Endowment


A number of stories at Turner Business have mentioned the Turner College’s Violet and Thomas Buck Jr. Endowed Chair of Economics.  The current holder of the Buck Chair is Turner College economics professor Frank Mixon.  Established by Thomas in March of 2008, the Buck Endowed Chair is named for Violet and her husband Thomas, both loyal friends and benefactors of education who made significant contributions to the Turner College and to Columbus State University.  Born in 1917 in Columbus, Thomas was a graduate of Industrial High School in 1934 and attended Georgia Military College.  He began working at a young age with his father. At one time he was President of the Buck Bottling Company, Buck Ice and Coal Company, Eelbeck Milling Company, Buck Realty, Inc. and Buck Development Company.  Thomas was very active in civic affairs in Columbus.  He was a president of Columbus YMCA, Columbus Rotary Club, Columbus Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Bottlers Association.  Thomas was also a member of the Board of Directors of AFLAC, and an original member of the Board of Trustees of Columbus State University Foundation.  He was named outstanding man of the year by the Columbus Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1949, and he was also a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International.  On December 15, 2007 Thomas was presented a Doctor of Humane Letters Degree by Columbus State University.  Through its endowment, which currently stands at about $1.7 million, the Buck Chair substantially enhances the quality of education in leadership and business administration in the Turner College.

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