A $22 million bequest to UT Martin from alumnus Bill Nunnelly (Martin ’70) and his wife, Rosann, was announced by UT System Interim President Randy Boyd and UT Martin Chancellor Keith Carver during the June 21 meeting of the UT Board of Trustees.
This is the largest gift made to UT Martin and will provide scholarships to qualified students from Dickson, Giles, Hickman, Lawrence, Lewis, Maury and Humphreys counties. Four initial scholarships to Hickman County students were awarded for the fall 2019 semester. More than 90 scholarships could be awarded annually through the gift.
Retaining Students
UT Martin hosted the first Skyhawk Regional Retention Summit on May 7-8, bringing almost 250 people representing 28 colleges and universities from six states together for a discussion on student success and perseverance to graduation across the southeastern United States. John Gardner, chief executive office of The Gardner Institute, spoke on the need to increase equity and opportunity for students from all backgrounds.
Fulmer Shares Roles of Passion in Success
Phillip Fulmer, director of athletics and former head football coach at the UT Knoxville, spoke during the UT Martin Ned Ray McWherter Institute’s 2019 Igniting Innovation fundraising dinner.
Fulmer spoke of meeting with R.C. Slocum, Texas A&M University former football coach and current interim athletics director, who used an illustration of 100 pennies to represent a person’s life and how many might remain for himself and Fulmer. “It’s important to count your pennies, but it’s a lot more important to make your pennies count,” Slocum told Fulmer. Fulmer urged those in attendance to make their pennies count.
High Returns to UT Martin
Katie High, former UT System vice president for academic affairs and student success, returned to UT Martin to serve as interim dean for the UT Martin College of Business and Global Affairs during the spring semester. She previously served UT Martin as vice chancellor for student affairs from 2001 to 2006.
