Student Life Successes
See also: Opportunities to Give
Stephen L. Davis Commits $25,000 to the Black Cultural Center
The University will use this gift to support the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK)'s Black Cultural Center and the goals and mission of the UTK Office of Minority Student Affairs. The Director of the UTK Black Cultural Center must approve all expenditures from these funds.
In alliance with the University's mission, UTK Office of Minority Student Affairs supports minority students by administering programs and services that holistically address their cultural, educational, and civic growth, thus contributing to their academic success, and enhancing the institutional efforts in retaining and graduating minority students for a diverse and complex world.
Professional Background
Stephen L. Davis has over 20 years experience in the Construction Industry. His professional career started with the General Electric Company in 1984. He left General Electric to start the first Will Group company in 1986. Some of the more notable projects The Will Group has been involved with include the lighting of both Wrigley Field and Soldiers Field, Wacker Drive Reconstruction, Energy Upgrade at Northfield Block and the Illinois Tollway's Open Road Tolling Program.
Education/Awards
Graduate of the University of Tennessee with a B.S. in Transportation.
Debby Schriver Student Orientation Leader Endowment
The University of Tennessee's Student Orientation program is vital to our campus for many reasons. Most importantly, it is the front porch through which our freshmen enter as they embark on a new and challenging chapter in their young adult lives. Orientation is also the first impression many parents receive of the university to which they are sending their children—some of them leaving home for the very first time. Finally, orientation is an incredible tool for developing our most involved and dedicated student leaders. The hard working and talented Student Orientation Leaders lead 26 orientation sessions annually. Support to this endowment will provide superlative students with scholarships to recognize their efforts and leadership abilities during orientation. The fund is named in honor of Debby Moberly Schriver as she impacted the lives of those around her in profound and tangible ways for many years serving as the Director of Student Orientation.
Alan Wilson, chairman, president and CEO of spice manufacturing giant McCormick & Co., and his wife, Wendy, generously provided a $25,000 gift for the Debby Schriver Endowment for Student Orientation. All former Student Orientation Assistants, Orientation Leaders and alumni that have benefitted from the Orientation program are encouraged to contribute to this fund to expand the opportunities for students through Orientation programming.
Alan Wilson was the subject of a 2008 feature story in Tennessee Alumnus magazine. To read that story, click here.
Clay & Debbie Jones Leadership Programming Endowment
Leadership development is a priority in Student Life, not only as a way to further engage students, but also to provide them with the skills necessary to have a productive, successful future beyond graduation. There are a variety of student leadership programs on campus, many housed within the Office of Student Orientation and Leadership Development. These programs help students identify their strengths and encourage them to reach their full leadership potential. They also help instill a deeper connection to and pride in the university. Many fond memories of alumni come from their involvement and leadership experience at the University of Tennessee.
Clay Jones attributes his success to his leadership involvement at the University of Tennessee. He believes that if students are provided an opportunity to connect and develop early on in their college career, they will achieve great things both as a student and professional. The Clay and Debbie Jones Endowment will be used to significantly expand leadership opportunities across the entire University of Tennessee, Knoxville, campus. It will encourage more students to have experience in leadership roles in campus organizations within the Division of Student Life, including those Clay Jones participated in as a University of Tennessee student. Specific examples of programs to be expanded include a three-day leadership retreat for first-year students (Ignite Summit), an Emerging Leaders academic course examining leadership theory and practice for upper class students, and additional leadership programming offered through the Office of Student Orientation and Leadership Development.
Sorority Village
In 2006, The University announced plans to turn 21 acres at the Southeast corner of Neyland Drive and Kingston Pike (Morgan Hill) into a sorority village. This new gateway to campus has space to accommodate up to 14 sorority houses in addition to the Panhellenic Affairs Office on this new site. UT's more than 2,000 sorority members currently meet in the Panhellenic building at 16th and Cumberland Avenues and have residential space in Laurel Hall. Construction of the sorority village on a single site has been a dream of the respective sorority housing corporation boards for many years. The houses are being constructed from private donations of our many generous and faithful alumnae.
Charlie Lemmons Endowment
Charlie Lemmons' grandparents were slaves freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. In the years that followed, Charlie Lemmons was a sharecropper who later joined the workforce of the International Harvester Company at a plant where mechanical cotton pickers were built and assembled. He was a respected leader in the union with an active role representing the workers of International Harvester, as well as being a deacon in his church. He was a very strong advocate of education, ensuring that each of his five children had an opportunity to attend college. Charlie spent a great deal of time with his first grandchildren, twin boys – Ronald and Donald Frieson, both graduates of the University of Tennessee. Know to them as "Papa Charlie," Mr. Lemmons provided an endless array of philosophy, wisdom and practical teachings that shaped their lives. Ron and Don attribute their acclaimed successes directly to those early teachings and mentoring provided by what the twins believe was the "smartest man we've ever known."
Ronald Frieson and his wife, Belinda Stubblefield, provided a generous gift to establish the Charlie Lemmons Endowment knowing that it was an excellent way to preserve the memory and share the legacy of a life well-lived. The annual monetary return from investments on the principal of this endowment provides academic support at the Black Cultural Center.
With this endowment, we will continue to create quality programming that will motivate and inspire the students of the University of Tennessee and the Knoxville community."» Raphael N. Onwuzuruigbo, Jr., 2010-2011 Black Cultural Programming Committee Chair
Student Life Priorities
Contact the Development Office
Division of Student Life
515 Andy Holt Tower
1331 Circle Park Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996
Phone: (865) 974-7449
Fax: (865) 974-0743
Learn more about how the Jones Leadership Programming Endowment is helping students.