For everyone who has ever competed for an honor, being selected by and from an honorable group of peers has special significance—particularly when those peers make up a large, high-achieving group. To say nothing of winning what is a once-in-a-century honor.
But that’s what our Centennial Alumni represent. From about 370,000 alumni representing every University of Tennessee campus, we’re bringing you stories of just 100 of the most highly accomplished grads who reflect the whole as Alumnus celebrates 100 years of continuous publication.
The first of three, near-equal installments of Centennial Alumni profiles appeared in the winter issue. In this issue, we bring you the second installment, and the third batch is coming in our final 2017 issue.
All this year, as we celebrate our centennial, the magazine is reflecting on where the university has been, where we are now and where we’ll be going toward strengthening the proud tradition of academic excellence. You’ll see that excellence reflected in the stories of our Centennial Alumni. We invite you to read about your classmates and colleagues and to enjoy being reminded that your UT alumni family is an honorable group, indeed.
Howard H. Baker Jr.
STATESMAN
UT Knoxville, ’49
Burwell Baxter “B.B.” Bell
U.S. ARMY GENERAL
UT Chattanooga, ’69
Frank Bowyer
DENTAL PIONEER AND PHILANTHROPIST
UT Health Science Center, ’39
Tamika Catchings
FORMER WNBA BASKETBALL PLAYER
UT Knoxville, ’00, ’05
Nancy-Ann Min DeParle
PUBLIC POLICY EXPERT
UT Knoxville, ’78
Lin Dunn
BASKETBALL COACH
UT Martin, ’69
Phil Garner
FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER
UT Knoxville, ’73
Willie Gault
FORMER PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYER
UT Knoxville, ’82
Todd Helton
FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER
UT Knoxville, ’95
Inquoris “Inky” Johnson
MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER
UT Knoxville, ’07, ’09
Julius Johnson
36TH TENNESSEE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE
UT Knoxville, ’70
Ed Jones
U.S. CONGRESSMAN
UT Martin, ’32; UT Knoxville, ’34
Bill Landry
ACTOR, AUTHOR AND STORYTELLER
UT Chattanooga, ’72
Min Kao
ENTREPRENEUR
UT Knoxville, ’74, ’77
Joel Katz
ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER
UT Knoxville, ’69
Amy Miles
BUSINESS LEADER
UT Knoxville, ’89
Spurgeon Neel Jr.
AVIATION MEDICINE PIONEER
UT Health Science Center ’42
Lindsey Nelson
SPORTS BROADCASTER
UT Knoxville, ’41
Ron Nutt
INVENTOR AND PHILANTHROPIST
UT Knoxville, ’61, ’62, ’69
Larry Patrick
ENTREPRENEUR
UT Knoxville, ’73
Jim Powell
BUSINESS LEADER
UT Knoxville, ’59
Dave Ramsey
FINANCIAL ADVISOR AND MEDIA PERSONALITY
UT Knoxville, ’82
Bill Rhodes
BUSINESS LEADER
UT Martin, ’87
Ron Rice
ENTREPRENEUR
UT Knoxville, ’64
Diane Schmidt
SCIENTIST AND INVENTOR
UT Chattanooga, ’67
Donnie and Terry Smith
PHILANTHROPISTS
UT Knoxville, ’80
William B. Stokely III
PHILANTHROPIST
UT Knoxville, ’63
John and Ann Tickle
PHILANTHROPISTS
UT Knoxville, ’65
Kim White
BUSINESS LEADER
UT Chattanooga, ’82
Barry Wilmore
NASA ASTRONAUT
UT Space Institute, ’94
Alan Wilson
BUSINESS LEADER
UT Knoxville, ’80
Lindsay Young
LAWYER AND PHILANTHROPIST
UT Knoxville, ’32, ’35
Learn more about our magazine’s selection process, and look for the final installment of profiles in the fall issue later this year.