After earning a bachelor’s in political science from the University of Arizona in 1975, Carol Dorsey became involved in regional politics, working at the Pima Association of Governments and serving on the City of Tucson land use planning committee.
She also chaired the campaign to elect David Yetman to the Pima County Board of Supervisors. Yetman is the host of the award-winning PBS series “The Desert Speaks” and “In the Americas with David Yetman.”
In the decades since, Carol and her husband, Bob, have remained close friends with Yetman, and they are generous supporters of “In the Americas” and the Southwest Center. Thanks to their gifts, the show’s website now includes course curricula for educators. The Southwest Center, where Yetman is a research social scientist, is part of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Carol and Bob moved to Mississippi in the 1980s, and while living there she became aware of the disparity in educational access and outcomes for children with reading and learning differences. She partnered with the University of Mississippi School of Applied Sciences, her local public school district and a private school in Dallas to spearhead a three-year project to identify and provide remediation for public school students with dyslexia and other learning differences. With a gift of $1 million, the Dorseys helped establish the North Mississippi Literacy Project, which provides teacher training and resources for early diagnosis of student learning differences. Over 2,000 students will be impacted by the Dorseys’ transformational gift in Mississippi.
