“We have limited resources, so we have tried to find areas at Wofford where we could really make a difference,” says Anne, who played sports in high school and developed a lifelong devotion to exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. “Our family believes that education is extremely important, and we wanted to increase opportunities for young women. Beyond education, there is also no question that the teamwork and discipline developed in athletics builds character and provides a skillset for the future in any organization.”
Anne, a Duke University graduate who earned her M.D. from the University of North Carolina, became involved with Wofford because of other Terriers in the family. Her two youngest daughters, Maggie Tyson ’11 and Julia Tyson ’13, are Wofford graduates as is her husband, Dr. George Tyson ’72.
“We wanted to honor Anne’s commitment to our alma mater,” says George, who appreciated the trustee matching grant that helped make the scholarship gift possible. “We chose an endowed scholarship for women’s lacrosse to provide young women an opportunity to gain a Wofford education as a student- athlete and because of the college’s need in this relatively new program. Anne’s also from northern New Jersey (Rumson), an area where lacrosse is extremely popular and where recruiting may prove fruitful.”
The family has a long history of support for the college, including annual and special campaign gifts as well as through the establishment of the Mock Interview program initiated to help prepare students for medical school interviews, essays and, ultimately, acceptance. The Tysons have mentored students through the medical school application process for decades, and Anne has presented lectures to Wofford students based on her expertise with the psychiatric interview to provide students insight into the dynamics of the interview process. The Tysons also have a close relationship with the college’s Environmental Studies Department, developing the Tyson Family Lecture, a series devoted to the restoration and preservation of Southern ecosystems. Anne has enjoyed hosting Wofford students on field exercises on the family’s timberlands in Dillon County, S.C.
“Having the Tysons’ support reminds us of ‘Why Wofford’ is a special place,” says head coach Kim Eldridge. “We have student- athletes who are biology majors on a pre-med track. It will be a privilege to identify and award the Tyson scholarship to a deserving member of our team.”
The Tysons hope that the recipients of the Anne Tyson Endowed Scholarship will take advantage of the many opportunities for intellectual and personal growth that Wofford offers. They also hope their scholars will one day find ways to pay those opportunities forward.
“Nothing prepared me for the Duke surgical residency like my Wofford education and being part of a very special Terrier football team. We believe young women need and deserve similar opportunities,” says George. He also believes that giving back in the tradition of Jerry Richardson ’59, as well as Tyson’s teammates Harold Chandler ’71 and Ed Wile ’73, is part of living a legacy of giving and service, one focused squarely on the college’s future and service to the generations of Terriers to come.
“This sends a powerful statement that a new sport is important to us and to the Tysons,” says Richard Johnson, director of athletics. “It sends an equally powerful message that we want to endow scholarships for women’s sports.”
After residency in a combined Duke-UNC program, Anne served as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Duke. When the family moved to Philadelphia, she became director of the psychiatric emergency room at Mercy Catholic Hospital with a clinical appointment to the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania. She is now in private practice in Lakeland, Fla. Her personal interests include etymology and languages (she’s currently studying German), reading science and cooking. She’s an avid environmentalist and enjoys kayaking. She’s also an equal partner in the management of the family’s timber business and is committed to longleaf pine restoration.
by Jo Ann Mitchell Brasington ’89