Oxford, Mississippi
Richard F. “Dick” Scruggs is founder and chairman of 2nd Chance Mississippi, a charitable foundation assisting young adults striving for work skills and high school equivalency diplomas. Scruggs’ foundation works through Mississippi’s community colleges and early childhood learning centers to improve the economic prospects for young adults and their kids.
Scruggs is a native Mississippian, former Navy fighter pilot and lawyer who gained international fame as the lead lawyer for the states in their historic $250 billion settlement with the tobacco industry. He later went to federal prison in a judicial bribery scandal.
In prison Scruggs’ job was preparing other inmates to pass their high school equivalency exam, an experience that upon his return in 2013 led him to form 2nd Chance Mississippi. For his successes as a lawyer and philanthropist, Scruggs has been profiled by the New York Times, Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, 60 Minutes, The Today Show, Frontline, NBC, CNN and other media organizations.